Medieval History
Greenland?s Viking settlers, the Norse, disappeared suddenly and mysteriously from Greenland about 500 years ago. Natural disasters, climate change and the inability to adapt have all been proposed as theories to explain their disappearance. But now a Danish-Canadian research team has demonstrated the Norse society did not die out due to an inability to adapt to the Greenlandic diet: an isotopic analysis of their bones shows they ate plenty of seals.
?Our analysis shows that the Norse in Greenland ate lots of food from the sea, especially seals,? says Jan Heinemeier, Institute of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University. ?Even though the Norse are traditionally thought of as farmers, they adapted quickly to the Arctic environment and the unique hunting opportunities. During the period they were in Greenland, the Norse ate gradually more seals. By the 14th century, seals made up between 50 and 80 per cent of their diet.?
The Danish and Canadian researchers are studying the 80 Norse skeletons kept at the University of Copenhagen?s Laboratory of Biological Anthropology in order to determine their dietary habits. From studying the ratio of the isotopes carbon-13 and carbon-15, the researchers determined that a large proportion of the Greenlandic Norse diet came from the sea, particularly from seals. Heinemeier measured the levels of carbon isotopes in the skeletons, Erle Nelson of Simon Fraser University, in Vancouver, Canada, analysed the isotopes, while Niels Lynnerup of the University of Copenhagen, examined the skeletons.
Click here to read this article from Medievalists.net
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Medieval History
Greenland?s Viking settlers gorged on seals
Greenland?s Viking settlers, the Norse, disappeared suddenly and mysteriously from Greenland about 500 years ago. Natural disasters, climate change and the inability to adapt have all been proposed as theories to explain their disappearance. But now a Danish-Canadian research team has demonstrated the Norse society did not die out due to an inability to adapt to the Greenlandic diet: an isotopic analysis of their bones shows they ate plenty of seals.
?Our analysis shows that the Norse in Greenland ate lots of food from the sea, especially seals,? says Jan Heinemeier, Institute of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University. ?Even though the Norse are traditionally thought of as farmers, they adapted quickly to the Arctic environment and the unique hunting opportunities. During the period they were in Greenland, the Norse ate gradually more seals. By the 14th century, seals made up between 50 and 80 per cent of their diet.?
The Danish and Canadian researchers are studying the 80 Norse skeletons kept at the University of Copenhagen?s Laboratory of Biological Anthropology in order to determine their dietary habits. From studying the ratio of the isotopes carbon-13 and carbon-15, the researchers determined that a large proportion of the Greenlandic Norse diet came from the sea, particularly from seals. Heinemeier measured the levels of carbon isotopes in the skeletons, Erle Nelson of Simon Fraser University, in Vancouver, Canada, analysed the isotopes, while Niels Lynnerup of the University of Copenhagen, examined the skeletons.
Click here to read this article from Medievalists.net
- Vikings Grew Barley In Greenland
A sensational find at the bottom of an ancient rubbish heap in Greenland suggests that Vikings grew barley on the island 1,000 years ago. The Vikings are both famous and notorious for their like of beer and mead, and archaeologists have discussed for...
- Vikings Not Alone When They Crossed The North Atlantic ? Mice Hitched A Ride Too
New research has revealed that when the Vikings sailed across the North Atlantic to places like Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland, they brought with them the common house mouse. An international team of researchers from the UK, USA, Iceland, Denmark...
- We Can Learn Lessons From Vikings To Adapt To Global Change
History can teach us how best to respond to climate change, economic turmoil and cultural upheaval, which seems to be pressing concerns of today, scientists have suggested. Scientists studying the past environments and archaeological remains of Greenland...
- Viking Life On Display In Aberdeen
An exhibition inspired by Viking life has opened in Aberdeen. Exposure is a sound and light installation at Satrosphere and runs until 6 December. Studies of soil samples dated up to one thousand years old at a Norse settlement in southern Greenland gave...
- Did Elephants Doom The Norse In Greenland?
A new article is examining the theory that Greenland's medieval Norse settlements were ruined by the collapse of the trade in walrus tusks, after ivory from elephants became more easily accessible for artisans in Europe. In her article, "Desirable...