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Norse Greenland

Historical period

Norse settlers from Iceland founded the Eastern and Western Settlements in the south-west around 985 and farmed cattle, sheep and goats there for roughly 450 years, supplementing farming heavily with seal hunting and caribou — isotope studies show the marine share of the diet rising sharply over time. The settlements ended in the 15th century, for reasons still debated: cooling climate, soil exhaustion, the collapse of the walrus-ivory trade, and contact or conflict with the arriving Thule. ⚠ NORSE GREENLAND DID NOT BECOME MODERN GREENLAND. It ended. The ancestors of today’s Kalaallit arrived separately, from the north-west, and the two are not one story.

Atlas — where and when

Communities and languages

Languages: Old Icelandic

What is recorded

  • The Norse Eastern and Western Settlements were founded around 985 from Iceland and ended in the 15th century; proposed causes include climate cooling, soil exhaustion, the collapse of the walrus-ivory trade and contact with the arriving Thule, and the question remains open. Norse Greenland did not become modern Greenland, and the two are recorded as separate histories. documented
  • The Norse Eastern and Western Settlements in south-west Greenland, founded from Iceland. ⚠ They ended; they did not become modern Greenland. documented

Related foodways

This foodway relates to

  • related to Icelandic Foodways documented

    The settlers came from Iceland. ⚠ The settlements ended; they did not become modern Greenland.

Recorded as relating to this foodway

Recipes

No recipes are filed under this cuisine yet.