Author Farley Mowat writes that even before the Vikings, North America was discovered and settled by Europeans originating from Orkney who reached Canada after a generation-spanning migration that used Iceland and Greenland as 'stepping stones'. Mowat's ideas are controversial and have been accused of being over-speculative.
Discovery of 1,000-year-old Viking site in Canada could rewrite history
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Re: Discovery of 1,000-year-old Viking site in Canada could rewrite history
#32I am more interested in whether there is any way of find a connection between Columbus and the Vikings. I've read stories before about how Columbus went to Norway and got info there about the Viking exploration. But what I've read just seemed like wild speculation then. Something more solid would have been nice. The reason why that is relevant is that the Viking discovery of America is of no significance if it didn't…
Actually an African connection is much more likely, and even documented. I've only read Wikipedia on this matter and I didn't really check the sources carefully but it is said that on his 3rd journey Columbus received orders from the spanish court to travel south because they believed a continent to be there. The continent was south america and it was on this journey that it was "discovered". How the spanish court kn…
Interesting. Can you recommend a book about this?
Re: Discovery of 1,000-year-old Viking site in Canada could rewrite history
#33As a Swede currently listening on the newly released album of Amon Amarth, this is cool news. I'm proud of you, long dead ancestors!
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Re: Discovery of 1,000-year-old Viking site in Canada could rewrite history
#34PBS is airing a program about the discovery tonight, called "Vikings Unearthed".
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/vikings-unearthed.html
Re: Discovery of 1,000-year-old Viking site in Canada could rewrite history
#35Author Farley Mowat writes that even before the Vikings, North America was discovered and settled by Europeans originating from Orkney who reached Canada after a generation-spanning migration that used Iceland and Greenland as 'stepping stones'. Mowat's ideas are controversial and have been accused of being over-speculative. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Farfarers
Another good one - speculation that proto-norse were involved in a copper trade network spanning from Michigan to North Africa, and left some runes (in a Moroccan script no less) in Ontario.
Re: Discovery of 1,000-year-old Viking site in Canada could rewrite history
#36I am more interested in whether there is any way of find a connection between Columbus and the Vikings. I've read stories before about how Columbus went to Norway and got info there about the Viking exploration. But what I've read just seemed like wild speculation then. Something more solid would have been nice. The reason why that is relevant is that the Viking discovery of America is of no significance if it didn't…
Actually an African connection is much more likely, and even documented. I've only read Wikipedia on this matter and I didn't really check the sources carefully but it is said that on his 3rd journey Columbus received orders from the spanish court to travel south because they believed a continent to be there. The continent was south america and it was on this journey that it was "discovered". How the spanish court kn…
> Just so I'm clear, an african kingdom traded and waged war with people in south america before Columbus sailed there. This is at least the claim.
Sorry but with what boat technology would the folks from this African Kingdom cross the Atlantic ? I seriously doubt a canoe is realistic - because it if were, America would have been discovered by numerous countries thousands of years earlier.
Re: Discovery of 1,000-year-old Viking site in Canada could rewrite history
#37Is it bad that the first thing I thought when I saw the title was "How can a website be 1,000 years old?"
Re: Discovery of 1,000-year-old Viking site in Canada could rewrite history
#38Good, means we can get a season five of "Vikings"
The Last Kingdom is frankly better. Though it's about the events in the British Isles, so colonisation of the New World won't likely show up there..
yes, the last kingdom is better (2nd season end this year), it's based on a book series by bernard cornwell: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Saxon_Stories
Re: Discovery of 1,000-year-old Viking site in Canada could rewrite history
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The reason why that is relevant is that the Viking discovery of America is of no significance if it didn't help European discovery in any way. In my opinion, this is an incredibly narrow-minded view. Native Americans and pretty much the rest of humans were two branches of the human race that had almost been cut off from each other, and re-united after more than 10000 years. Showing the time and extent of this first…
There's evidence as others have pointed out of African expeditions and I've read about evidence of Chinese and Polynesian contact with South America so I'm not sure it was quite as drastic a gulf as you propose.
No significant gene flow, so quite a drastic gulf.
The fact that populations in the Americas were decimated by disease after contact should be enough to show how significant it was.
Re: Discovery of 1,000-year-old Viking site in Canada could rewrite history
#40I am more interested in whether there is any way of find a connection between Columbus and the Vikings. I've read stories before about how Columbus went to Norway and got info there about the Viking exploration. But what I've read just seemed like wild speculation then. Something more solid would have been nice. The reason why that is relevant is that the Viking discovery of America is of no significance if it didn't…
Actually an African connection is much more likely, and even documented. I've only read Wikipedia on this matter and I didn't really check the sources carefully but it is said that on his 3rd journey Columbus received orders from the spanish court to travel south because they believed a continent to be there. The continent was south america and it was on this journey that it was "discovered". How the spanish court kn…
A bit strange though. I don't know what the Mali technology level was at the time but I would assume Vikings had far more advance ship and navigation technology as they are well known for that and it is well documented their extensive travels elsewhere in the world.
Of course pretty much everybody claims to have been in America from Moroccans, Chinese to Irish. But still we only got solid evidence that the Vikings were actually there.