DNA analysis of walrus tusks collected by Viking hunters in the Middle Ages just revealed that Norsemen hunted on the same lands as Thule Inuits and likely crossed paths with the Indigenous Americans long before Columbus arrived in the New World.
Mikkel Høegh-Post/Lund UniversityAfter hunting walruses, Norsemen transported their valuable ivory tusks back to Europe to trade.
Hundreds of years before Christopher Columbus set foot in the New World, Europeans and Indigenous Americans may have already been engaging in trade. A new study just revealed that Norse Vikings hunted walruses on the same grounds as Thule Inuits, and they likely interacted in various ways.
Walrus ivory was a prized commodity in medieval Europe, and Vikings would harvest the creatures’ tusks during hunting expeditions in Greenland and then bring them back to the mainland to trade. Scientists recently analyzed DNA samples taken from these tusks, many of which are now on display in museums, and determined where the walruses they once belonged to lived.
Their findings are now shedding new light on human history.
New Revelations On Norse Walrus Hunting Practices
According to the new study published in Science Advances, detailed analyses on walrus ivory collected by Viking Age Norse people shows that the tusks likely came from remote hunting grounds in the High Arctic.
Previous research has shown that Norse explorers began hunting walruses for ivory beginning around 900 C.E. The tusks quickly became a highly-valued commodity and were traded all across Europe. However, until now, it was unclear exactly where the Vikings sourced their ivory. Most scientists believed they did all their hunting in Iceland and southern Greenland.
Emily Ruiz-Puerta/Lund UniversityDNA was extracted from ancient tusks found in museum collections.
However, researchers recently discovered that walrus populations around the Arctic have distinct genetic fingerprints. Scientists realized that by analyzing DNA taken from the tusks collected by Norsemen during the Viking Age, they could pinpoint exactly where they hunted.
The analysis revealed that the tusks came from walruses in the High Arctic, specifically North Water Polynya, which lies between Greenland and Canada. Viking hunting grounds may even have extended into the interior region of the Canadian Arctic — far beyond their previously presumed bounds.
More importantly, however, this area also served as hunting grounds for the Thule Inuits, meaning the Indigenous Americans likely came into contact with Europeans long before Columbus ever arrived in the New World. They may have even traded goods with one another.
Peter Jordan, a professor of archaeology at Lund University and one of the authors of the study, said in a statement: “What really surprised us was that much of the walrus ivory exported back to Europe was originating in very remote hunting grounds located deep into the High Arctic. Previously, it has always been assumed that the Norse simply hunted walrus close to their main settlements in southwest Greenland.”
This also raises questions about the seafaring ability of Vikings in Greenland: Could they really have made such an arduous journey?
The research team decided to put this to the test, too.
Testing Theories About Viking Expeditions To The High Arctic
Archaeologist Greer Jarrett wanted to be sure the research team’s theory was even plausible, so he reconstructed potential travel routes and set sail in clinker-built Norwegian boats.
“Walrus hunters probably departed from the Norse settlements as soon as the sea ice retreated,” Jarrett said. “Those aiming for the far north had a very tight seasonal window within which to travel up the coast, hunt walrus, process and store the hides and ivory onboard their vessels, and return home before the seas froze again.”
Greer Jarrett/Science AdvancesResearchers constructed Viking Age boats to test their theory that medieval Norsemen traveled to the High Arctic to hunt walruses.
If the Norse made it to the High Arctic, it’s likely they encountered the Thule Inuits, who lived and hunted in the same region. “This would have been the meeting of two entirely different cultural worlds,” Jordan said. “The Greenland Norse had European facial features, were probably bearded, dressed in woolen clothes, and were sailing in plank-built vessels; they harvested walrus at haul out sites with iron-tipped lances.”
On the other hand, the Thule Inuit had already been far more adapted to the Arctic. They hunted walruses in open waters with sophisticated harpoons and looked starkly different to their European contemporaries.
“Of course, we will never know precisely, but on a more human level these remarkable encounters, framed within the vast and intimidating landscapes of the High Arctic, would probably have involved a degree of curiosity, fascination and excitement, all encouraging social interaction, sharing and possibly exchange,” said Jordan.
After reading about how Europeans may have traded with Indigenous Americans hundreds of years before Columbus arrived in the New World, read about Leif Erikson, the European who made it to North America well before Columbus. Then, check out these 32 Viking facts that shed light on their history.
