DK Eyewitness Books - Viking

21

Greenland

Animal head

WHALEBONE AX

The Inuit in Greenland made weapons from

the bones of seals, whales, and caribou. This whalebone

ax head from a Viking farm shows that the Vikings did

the same. Its shape is very similar to iron ax heads (p. 15),

but it wouldn’t have been as strong. It is probably a toy

made for a child.

Animal wit h gaping

jaws and huge teet h

GREENLAND INUIT

The Inuit (Eskimos) made everything they

needed from the natural resources of

the land and sea. But the Vikings

had to import lumber, iron,

and grain to survive.

EXPLORING THE FROZEN NORTH

This rune stone was found at Kingiktorsuak, Greenland, at

latitude 73° north. It proves that settlers explored the

frozen north of the island. The stone was carved in around

1300. Around 100 years after this date, the last
      descendants of the Vikings in Greenland perished.

Modern tapestry showing Leif the Lucky sighting Vinland

VIKINGS IN VINLAND

Evidence of Viking settlements in North America

includes one located at L’Anse aux Meadows in

Newfoundland, and one to the north on Ellesmere

Island. Large houses with thick turf walls have been

unearthed, and objects such as a dress pin, a spindle

whorl (p. 44), and a coin have

been found. The Vikings may

have sailed farther south

along Nova Scotia, perhaps as

far as New England, but there

is no firm evidence of this.

North America

Leif the Lucky, Erik the Red’s

son, explored land in North

America during a trip from

Greenland (another account

says that Bjarni Herjolfsson

reached the coastline a few

years before). Around 1001,

Leif became the first European

to set foot in North America,

probably in Newfoundland,

Canada. He called it Vinland

(Wine Land), perhaps

mistaking the big huckleberries

he saw for red grapes. The

Vikings also discovered

Markland (Wood Land) and

Helluland (Rock Land). These

may be Labrador and Baffin

Island to the north.

Most of this inhospitable island
is covered in ice and snow. Erik

the Red called it Greenland to
encourage people to move there.

The Vikings established two
settlements, the eastern and
western settlements, in the only

areas where the land could be
farmed. They built their farms on the

edges of fjords, often far inland. They
farmed sheep and cattle, but depended
mainly on caribou and seals for food.