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Course:EOSC311/2025/What Happened to the Norse Viking Settlers in Greenland?

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This webpage examines the disappearance of the Norse Viking Settlers from Greenland after 500 years of occupation (986-1450 CE). In the beginning, they thrived in the first hundred years by relying on pastoral farming, trade, and marine resources. Unfortunately, environmental pressures like soil erosion, climate change, and deforestation would gradually diminish their subsistence strategies. Unlike the already adapted Inuit, the Norse settlers remained heavily dependent on trade and stubborn pastoral practices. By the 15th century, the worsening climate conditions, isolation, and resource depletion eventually led to their abandonment of Greenland. By a combination of geological evidence with anthropological research, this study can demonstrate how human-environment interactions shaped the fate of the Norse settlers. Their disappearance serves as a historical case study on sustainability, resilience, and the consequences of ecological mismanagement, which is a lesson still relevant today.

Statement of connection and why you chose it

When one looks at geology and anthropology as separate disciplines, they are very different. Geology is the study of Earth’s materials, history, and processes, whereas Anthropology studies specifically human history, evolution, and cultures. Though these are different areas of study, they have some similarities that make them compatible, like the use of the scientific method as well as studying large time frames, from the beginning of the planet to the beginning of humanity. These two disciplines can actually go hand in hand when it comes to studying the interactions between human activity and Earth processes, such as in the interdisciplinary approach of geoanthropology.[1] In a lot of cases of understanding past human activity, anthropologists rely on earth scientists to provide environmental context.

I chose this topic because I had heard vague details on this settlement before, and chose this as an opportunity to research further. I believe that the mix of anthropology, especially archaeology and earth sciences, needed to interpret these historical events is integral to showing the collaboration between these two disciplines. The relation between climate change and human society is an important connection to be made throughout our choices in history.  

On this webpage, I will be looking into the effects of the Norse Vikings' socioenvironment and how that impacted their decisions and ultimately led to their disappearance from Greenland. In this way, I will be demonstrating the connection geology and anthropology have in uncovering the past.

Settling in Greenland

The Norse Viking/Norse Greenlandic settlers occupied and survived in Greenland for 500 years before they seemed to abandon their settlements and disappear. It all started with the infamous Norse Viking Erik the Red (or Erik Thorvaldsson) being banished from Iceland on the charges of manslaughter. This led to him sailing with his family and close associates westward, where he would come across the land of fjords and grasslands along the south coast of Greenland in around 982-985 CE. He would then return to Iceland to convince his followers in Iceland to migrate to this new land with him, which he would give the name ‘Greenland’ to further entice settlers to join him. In 986 CE, Erik the Red departed Iceland with his 25 ships of settlers and arrived on the southwest coast of Greenland, with only 14 ships left due to rough seas and navigational error. They established two settlements dubbed at the time the “Western Settlement” (today's Nuuk) and “Eastern Settlement” (today’s Qaqortoq).[2]

A map of the North Atlantic showing the areas of settlement by the Norse Vikings

The account of historical Norse events was written in two different sagas (the Greenlanders’ Saga and the Saga of Erik the Red) based on unknown oral accounts, which happen to disagree on some details of events. Though some of the accounts can be corroborated by geological climate evidence, these sagas cannot be taken by anthropologists as pure historical fact. As Erik the Red does have historical credit for starting the first European colony in Greenland, I include a part of his saga for reference. This in itself demonstrates the reliance that anthropologists have on geological facts to figure out forgotten histories.

The Norse Vikings would import domestic farm animals like cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and horses to keep up their already established pastoral lifestyle, as they had in Iceland. This indicates that the Norse Vikings’ settlement patterns indicate that available grazing would be very important for them. When they arrived in Greenland, they settled in dispersed patterns along the coastal fjords and grasslands rather than clustered, and their annual subsistence would rely on multiple farm collaborations and the community for survival.[3][4] The domestic farm animals could not fully sustain them, so they would also need to supplement their food by hunting the natural wildlife found in Greenland. All this to say that the Norse had a flexible and broad subsistence system of farming as well as harvesting wild resources.[3]

Why Greenland?

A map of Greenland showing the Ice sheet covering 80% the land.

Greenland is the worlds largest island sitting in the North Atlantic Ocean between Canada and Iceland. Greenland itself is covered by up to 80% by a single ice sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the Northern Hemisphere, second globally only to Antarctica.[5] Where most of the land is glaciers, the southern coastal regions of Greenland have grasslands and fjords, which fit the Norse Vikings' pastoral needs.[3][4] They were quite lucky travelling to Greenland when they did, as it was during the Medieval Warm Period (which lasted from 950 to 1250 CE), the sea ice levels decreased making it less dangerous to sail to; as well as the slightly warmer weather allowed for more ideal conditions for farming and grazing.[6][7]

Along with this, Greenland was also home to native grazing animals such as caribou and musk oxen as well as marine mammals like walrus and seal. The occupation of grazing animals helped the grassland environment thrive in this sub-arctic climate.[4] The appearance of the walrus was also a big factor in settlement, as during that time, the ivory trade was very big in Europe, which gave the Norse Vikings some economic status.[6]The last reason that this area of Greenland was ideal was because at this time it was not being occupied by the nomadic Inuit who already occupied northern Greenland, though there had been some hints of contact and conflict between these two groups over their shared habitation of Greenland. The Paleo-Eskimos had crossed from North America to Greenland and occupied Greenland for hundreds, if not thousands, of years before the Norse Vikings and became the modern Inuit that occupy the land today.[8][9]

Disappearance from Greenland

Adapting to the Land

So, how could the Norse Vikings vanish after 500 years of occupation while the Inuit thrive? The difference is in their subsistence methods and adaptability. The Inuit were a nomadic type and moved along the land with the changing weather and hunting conditions, and were able to effectively use Greenland's natural resources.[8] Whereas the Norse Vikings had tied themselves to their land by relying on their pastoralism, leaving no room for movement if conditions changed. There has been little documented about the interactions between the Inuit and Norse Vikings but it has been mentioned in the Greenlander's Saga that they had conflict whenever contact was made.[3]This implies that the Norse Greenlanders and the Inuit did not share traditional ecological knowledge, leaving the Norse to adapt using their own methods.[6][8]

When the Norse Vikings first arrived in Greenland, they cleared the willow and birch trees/scrub to give them more grasslands for their animals to graze, and would use the wood to repair and build their ships. This, however, would over time heavily impact the land structure and cause soil erosion, which made it harder for them to grow hay and other crops.[10] Soil erosion is evident in the soil layers where they had their farms, the earlier layers appearing thinner as well as less organic material, wheras you can see that within a generation they were able to stablilize the soil.[6] As well as the lack of wood in Greenland over time would force them to seek outside lumber sources to keep maintaining their ships.[6]

 Their choice of domestic animals would change as they adapted to the land, with pigs becoming nearly extinct across the North Atlantic by 1300 CE, as well as the favouring of goats and cattle for dairy and meat production.[3] Though due to land erosion and lack of fodder, the animals would often starve. The reliance on marine animals to supplement food became increasingly heavy as the years went on. Smaller farms, especially, had to supplement their diets with marine animals as they would not have consistent enough dairy and meat production to sustain themselves.[3] Smaller farms also had trouble maintaining their herds' biological replacement levels and would eventually merge with and rely on bigger farms for community survival [3] Reliance on community is most evident by communal hunting trips where settlers would organize, pool resources and labour before sailing up along the coast for caribou, seal, and walrus; Because this was a communal affair, whatever the hunters would bring back would be shared amongst everyone in the settlement [6] They were able to socially adapt to their conditions by building a strong community.

For the first couple of hundred years of the Norse settlers' occupation, they survived well enough to establish social, economic, political, and religious practices, including a trade system between Greenland and Norway of rare arctic goods in exchange for material like metals and wood [3] However, a series of unfortunate events would build up until the Norse settlers abandoned their settlements.

Climate Change

The segara Anak caldera, which was created by the Mount Samalas eruption

In 1257 CE, Mount Samalas in Indonesia erupted and is considered one of the largest eruptions in the past 7,000 years. The eruption had a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 7 and was responsible for releasing megatons of sulfur dioxide, chlorine, and bromine into the stratosphere, the largest amount of volcanic gases released in the stratosphere in the Common Era.[11] This is corroborated by ice cores drilled in Greenland’s ice sheet to reveal sulfur layering after the eruption [6][11] It is thought that this eruption contributed to the Little Ice Age (LIA) that occurred from roughly 1300-1850 CE and made impacts globally. [7]

The LIA slowly caused an increase in summer sea ice around the Eastern Settlement, resulting in negative impacts on travel as well as seal migration. Since hunters travelled by ship along the coast to reach more animal-populated areas, this would have had a negative impact. This also would have made contacting Norway, which they relied on for imports and exports, very difficult.[3] Their economy was heavily reliant on trading arctic rarities like walrus ivory and arctic pelts, which, being in demand when they first arrived, became unimportant throughout the years. This is also in part due to the discovery and trade of elephant ivory from Africa and the diminishment of resources in Greenland.[6]

The cumulative effects of the LIA correlate with a rise in sea level that contributed to the loss of land mass, especially their pasture land.[12] As well as resulting in summer days shortening and increased winter periods, which had a huge negative impact on grazing as well as hay production to keep their animals fed. Soil upkeep became harder as the climate changed seasonal temperatures the demand for irrigation became higher in colder seasons despite the shorter growing season. [13]Ultimately, this shift in agriculture led to a heavier reliance on marine life for sustenance.[3][10] According to isotopic studies on bones of remains found indicate that their diet increased from around 40% to 80% marine animals.[10] The most abundant marine source of food was the harbour and harp seal, as many seal bones have been found by archaeologists investigating the sites[6]

How did they Disappear?

Though the Norse Greenlanders were able to adapt to a heavier marine diet and seal hunting techniques following the climate change, they could only sustain this until the mid-15th century.[10] The last written record of the Norse Greenlandic settlers comes from a wedding mentioned in around three letters that were exchanged in the early 15th century between the newlyweds (who had just settled in Greenland) and their contacts in Norway. After this written account, there was no contact between Norse Greenlanders and Norway again.[6] It was not until the early 18th century that European travellers voyaged to investigate the colonies of Greenland and found ruins of old buildings and no living person in sight. Did they die? Did they leave? What happened?

The ruins of a Norse Church in Greenland

The lack of important artifacts left behind, as well as the lack of human remains do indicates that they did not die out. [6] The Western settlement seemed to have been abandoned in the late 14th century, although the specific reason is not confirmed; It is assumed that it was likely due to isolation from the other settlements and subsistence failure, along with climate change[3] Later, followed by the Eastern Settlement in the mid-15th century. The choices the settlers made in adapting to their circumstances did help them in the short term, but would lead to their downfall in the future. As resources dried up, pasture lands eroded, and the occurrence of longer winters, they would have had no other choice but to migrate elsewhere.[3] Though we do not have any record of where they could have gone, we cannot conclude for certain the fate of the Norse Greenlandic settlers.

Conclusion / Your Evaluation of the Connections

The disappearance of the Norse Vikings from Greenland is a compelling case study that is still researched by anthropologists and Earth scientists today. The Norse settlement in Greenland thrived for centuries due to favourable climate and land conditions; however, their rigid pastoral lifestyle, environmental degradation, and the onset of the LIA would ultimately lead to their disappearance.

The anthropological and archaeological findings, such as isotopic analyses of human remains and animal bones, reveal how settlers adapted or failed to adapt to cultural and climatic changes. Further, the geological evidence of ice core data and soil erosion patterns provides researchers critical context for understanding the environmental challenges the Norse settlers faced. Their reliance on trade, communal hunting and farming, and shifting subsistence strategies demonstrates the Norse’s resilience and adaptability, but their failure to fully adjust to Greenland's changing climate led to their disappearance.

This case underlines the broader theme of human-environment interactions throughout history. By combining geological and anthropological perspectives, we can gain a deeper understanding of not only the Norse disappearance but also the fragile balance between human societies and their environments, a lesson that is still occurring today as we live and adapt through climate change. Ultimately, the story of the Norse Vikings in Greenland is one of triumphs and tragedies, shaped by the land they settled in and the choices they made. Their legacy can only be pieced together by interdisciplinary collaboration.

References

  1. ↑ Barker, J. P., & Barker, J. M. (2006). Geoanthropology. In Kluwer Academic Publishers eBooks (pp. 218–223). https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30844-x_34
  2. ↑ Sephton, J. (1880). The saga of Erik the Red. In Icelandic Saga Database. http://www.sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 Dugmore, A. J., McGovern, T. H., Vésteinsson, O., Arneborg, J., Streeter, R., & Keller, C. (2012). Cultural adaptation, compounding vulnerabilities and conjunctures in Norse Greenland. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(10), 3658–3663. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1115292109
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Dugmore, A. J., Church, M. J., Buckland, P. C., Edwards, K. J., Lawson, I., McGovern, T. H., Panagiotakopulu, E., Simpson, I. A., Skidmore, P., & Sveinbjarnardóttir, G. (2005). The Norse landnám on the North Atlantic islands: an environmental impact assessment. Polar Record, 41(1), 21–37. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247404003985
  5. ↑ Raikar, S.P. "Greenland Ice Sheet." Encyclopedia Britannica, March 17, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/place/Greenland-Ice-Sheet.
  6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 Folger, Tim. 2017. “Why Did Greenland’s Vikings Vanish?” Smithsonian. Smithsonian.com. February 23, 2017. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-greenland-vikings-vanished-180962119/.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Young, N. E., Schweinsberg, A. D., Briner, J. P., & Schaefer, J. M. (2015). Glacier maxima in Baffin Bay during the Medieval Warm Period coeval with Norse settlement. Science Advances, 1(11). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1500806
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Lemberg, Tia. 2021. “Reverse Colonization: How the Inuit Conquered Greenland and Vanquished the Vikings.” REMAKE. September 2021. https://remake.wustl.edu/issue2/lemberg-reverse-colonization. ‌
  9. ↑ Rasmussen, Rasmus Ole. 2019. “Greenland | History, Geography, & Culture.” In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Greenland. ‌
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Jackson, R., Arneborg, J., Dugmore, A., Madsen, C., McGovern, T., Smiarowski, K., & Streeter, R. (2018). Disequilibrium, adaptation, and the Norse settlement of Greenland. Human Ecology, 46(5), 665–684. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-018-0020-0
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Wade, David C., Céline M. Vidal, N. Luke Abraham, Sandip Dhomse, Paul T. Griffiths, James Keeble, Graham Mann, Lauren Marshall, Anja Schmidt, and Alexander T. Archibald. 2020. “Reconciling the Climate and Ozone Response to the 1257 CE Mount Samalas Eruption.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117 (43): 26651–59. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1919807117.
  12. ↑ Wilken, D., Wunderlich, T., Feldens, P., Coolen, J., Preston, J., & Mehler, N. (2019). Investigating the Norse Harbour of Igaliku (Southern Greenland) using an integrated system of Side-Scan sonar and High-Resolution reflection seismics. Remote Sensing, 11(16), 1889. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11161889
  13. ↑ Adderley, W. Paul, and Ian A. Simpson. 2006. “Soils and Palaeo-Climate Based Evidence for Irrigation Requirements in Norse Greenland.” Journal of Archaeological Science 33 (12): 1666–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2006.02.014. ‌


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