Newly-Found Artifacts Show Vikings Reached America Exactly 1,000 Years Ago
Image by Kuitems, M., Wallace, B.L., Lindsay, C. et al / Nature (CC BY 4.0)
It’s been known that the Vikings had made their way to America long before Columbus arrived on its shores, though researchers hadn’t been sure when the Europeans first sailed across the Atlantic.
Now, after discovering new wooden artifacts in Newfoundland, Canada, scientists have evidence of the earliest appearance of humans arriving from Europe on to American soil, in the year 1021—marking exactly 1,000 years since the Vikings’ arrival.
According to a recently published study, archaeologists are confident that the artifacts found once belonged to the Vikings. The objects bore evidence of being crafted by metal tools, which were not used by the Indigenous people of the land at the time.
“This is the first time the date has been scientifically established,” archaeologist Margot Kuitems, from the University of Groningen, told NBC News.
The scientists were able to determine right down to the year when the artifacts were fashioned, by using the atmospheric carbon in the wood to calculate the exact dates when the trees were felled to make the objects.
The team also made use of a solar storm that occurred in 992 AD as a marker, spotting a distinct radiocarbon signal in the tree rings.
“We used science. We used a solar storm, annual tree rings, and cutmarks made by metal tools to show that Vikings were living in the Americas in 1021 AD, exactly 1,000 years ago,” explained co-author Michael Dee to USA Today.
“That level of precision and scientific proof has never been achieved before.”
[via USA Today, cover image by Kuitems, M., Wallace, B.L., Lindsay, C. et al / Nature (CC BY 4.0)]
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