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Climate Change, the Ocean, and the Vikings. By Cate LiaBraaten . Historical Background. Norse settlers reached the New World 500 years before Columbus. Often left out of history because of their limited impact ( Wilford , 1992).
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Climate Change, the Ocean, and the Vikings By Cate LiaBraaten
Historical Background • Norse settlers reached the New World 500 years before Columbus. • Often left out of history because of their limited impact (Wilford, 1992). • Colonies did not thrive; there has been much speculation as to why.
Vikings and the Sea • Adept sailors-in Scandinavia ocean travel was often faster than travel by land (Diamond, 2005). • The sea was tied into myth-helped the Norse make the first discovery of an oceanic gyre (Scigliano, 2009).
Causes for Failure • Environmental- Encountered “Little Ice Age,” which limited trading and made survival difficult, few opportunities for agriculture • Cultural-Clung to pastoralism and European lifeways, did not adapt. • Culture also caused poor interaction with the environment.
Research Methods • Archaeological-Middens, Farmsteads • Historical-Sagas • Ice Cores-Climate records
Conclusion • Studying the failures of societies is an interdisciplinary endeavor. • Events in human history are often too complex for any one solution.
Sources Cited: • Diamond, Jared, 2005, Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed, New York, The Penguin Group • Scigliano, Eric, 2009, “Vikings were the first oceanographers,”: New Scientist 201.2700, p. 42-43