Norse settlement of North America

Rare card · No. 41256

The Norse settlement of North America, including Greenland, began in the late 10th century AD and lasted for about 500 years. Further west, the evidence is more limited. Only one Canadian settlement has been confirmed: L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. There is evidence of Norse activity in other parts of Canada, but no trace of the long-term farming colonies found in Greenland. In the present-day United States, there are no confirmed remains. Claimed US discoveries are hoaxes or mistaken identifications. Settlements on Greenland's western coast peaked at a population of 2,000 to 3,000, sustained by pastoral farming on scattered coastal fjords and exports, mainly of walrus ivory, to Europe. For timber and iron, colonists launched expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and likely into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. L'Anse aux Meadows, dating to around 1021 AD, was capable of housing between 30 and 160 people. Its lack of stables, farms, and cemeteries indicates it probably functioned as an overwintering...

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