1. Mystery – What happened to the Vikings of
Greenland?
Archaeologists in the 1990s found The Vikings established dairy and sheep
fragments of looms and cloth, an iron farms throughout the unglaciated areas of
knife, soapstone jugs, and a double- the south of Greenland
edged comb
They built churches, a monastery, a From the number of farms archaeologists
nunnery, and a cathedral guess that the population may have been
about 5,000.
Trading with Norway the Greenlanders A cathedral was built of the local reddish
sold live falcons, polar bear skins, narwahl sandstone capable of holding several
tusks, and walrus ivory hundred people
The Church became a burden - soon it The number of Norwegian merchant
owned two-thirds of the island's finest vessels arriving in their ports dropped until
pastures, and tithes (taxes) were very high none came at all.
Norwegian merchant vessels had brought By the 1300s Elephant ivory could be
wood, iron and tools needed for their easily obtained from Africa and replaced
farms and the building and maintenance walrus ivory.
of the Viking boats.
Farmland was over-exploited and lost Soil erosion came about due to the cutting
fertility. of trees for fuel and for the production of
charcoal
Livestock ate any regenerating vegetation. Greenland's climate began to change; the
Overgrazing by sheep, goats and cattle, summers grew shorter and progressively
left the land in a poor state cooler,
Long winters limited the time cattle could Colder winters affected the design of
be kept outdoors and increasing the need houses – they were divided into smaller
for winter fodder. spaces for warmth with the cows close by
for the animals' body heat.

2. Archaeologists know that during one An ice core taken in 1992 shows a
freezing winter farmers killed and ate their decided cooling off in the Western
livestock, including newborn calves and Settlement during the mid-fourteenth
lamb, century.
By the 1400s the islanders lacked the Basque (Spanish) pirates attacked Vikings
boats to migrate all together as they had in Iceland in the 15th century, burning
neither nails, bolts, or wood houses and stealing treasure
Archaeologists know that only one Viking The Vikings remained farmers and
house on Greenland can be said to have concentrated on the raising of sheep,
been destroyed by fire goats, and cattle rather than fishing
The Inuit caught seals through holes in the Archaeologists can find no trace of the
ice in winter when food was scarce, and Vikings using harpoons or fishhooks
also caught a lot of fish
As life became harder young Viking Two thirds of Vikings in Iceland were killed
people may have left for Iceland on any by the black plague
passing boat
The Vikings traded tusks and hides with The Vikings saw themselves as
Norway not for iron or wood, but religious Europeans, very different form the Inuit
artefacts, stained glass and vestments for
clergy.
An expedition sent to Greenland in 1721 Archaeological remains show an
found no surviving Europeans increasingly poor diet for humans and
animals