Exactly 1000 years ago, in 1021, Vikings could have lived in North America. This suggests at least an analysis of wooden remains, which a research team presents in the "Nature" journal. The finds are therefore the oldest evidence that people from Europe have come to America. The team helped the team to have a violent solar storm when it comes to age.
The fact that Columbus was not the first European to reach the American continent has been known for some time. Last but not least, the sagas, old -north stories from the Middle Ages, describe relatively detailed how the Vikings with their iconic long ships sailed over the Atlantic hundreds of years earlier. However, these stories, which were initially passed on orally, were long dismissed as myths and fairy tales - also because they contain many contradictory and fantastic elements. Only the discovery of the archaeological foundation L’Anse Aux Meadows in 1961 on the northern tip of the Canadian island of Neufundland made historical sources from the Sagas. So far, however, the exact age of the settlement has not yet been determined, just as little as the exact time of the Vikings arrival on the continent.
Three inconspicuous pieces of wood, which have just been found in L'Anse aux Meadows, now seem to allow a more precise dating. The remains from different trees were examined more closely by a team led by geochronologists Michael Dee and Margot Kuitems from the University of Groningen. The researchers are certain that the wooden artefacts can be attributed to the northern European seafarers – not only because of where they were found, but also because they showed clear traces of metal blades, a material that was not produced by the local population of that time.
When clarifying the question of when the wood of the artifacts was obtained, the research team now helped radiocarbond dates, which were carried out both at the University of Groningen and at the Mannheim Curt Engelhorn Center Archeometry, as well as a cosmic event: In 992 Massive solar storm, which produced a clear radiocarbo signal in the tree rings of the following years.
"The clear increase in radiocarbon production between 992 and 993 was noted in tree-ring archives around the world," Dee said in a statement. This signal showed 29 growth rings in front of the bark edge in each of the three wooden objects examined. "The fact that we found the signal of solar storm 29 growth rings in front of the bark allows us to conclude that the cutting activity took place in the year 1021," summarizes lead author Kuitems.
Your analysis is thus putting a new marker for the arrival of Europeans on the American continent, according to the authors. In addition, they emphasize the potential value of cosmic radiation events - as here of the strong solar storm - as reference points for the future dating of artifacts and environmental events.
However, it remains unclear how many expeditions the Vikings undertook to America and how long they stayed there. Nor is it known about the impact of their stays. The Icelandic sagas suggested that the Vikings had entered into a cultural exchange with the indigenous peoples of North America, the scientists write: "If these encounters actually took place, they could have had unintended consequences, such as the transmission of pathogens, the introduction of foreign animal and plant species, or even the exchange of human genetic information."
However, the latest data from the northern Greenland population showed no evidence of the latter. The authors conclude: »How the year 1021 behaves over the transatlantic activities of the Vikings as a whole is the subject of future research. Nevertheless, our results offer a chronological anchor for further studies on the consequences of their westernmost expansion.
