An international team, led by Lund University in Sweden, has analyzed ancient walrus DNA to retrace the Viking Age’s ivory trade routes. The study, published in Science Advances, reveals that Norse Vikings and Arctic Native Americans, or Indigenous peoples, likely traded walrus ivory in remote northern Greenland.
This trade likely occurred centuries before Christopher Columbus voyaged to North America.
Vikings and the medieval ivory trade
During Medieval Europe, there was a high demand for luxury goods, with walrus ivory being particularly prized. Vikings played a central role in this trade, traveling across the North Atlantic to find new sources of ivory from Iceland to Greenland.
Historically, it was assumed that the Norse primarily hunted walruses near their settlements in southwest Greenland. However, the new research presents a different picture.
Surprising origins of walrus ivory
Professor Peter Jordan, an archaeologist from Lund University, notes that much of the walrus ivory shipped to Europe actually came from far-off hunting grounds deep within the High Arctic. This discovery challenges the previous belief that the Norse only hunted close to their homes.
To pinpoint where the traded ivory originated, the research team employed genetic “fingerprinting.” Dr. Morten Tange Olsen from the Globe Institute in Copenhagen explained that they collected ancient DNA from walrus remains found across the North Atlantic Arctic.
By comparing the genetic profiles of these samples, the researchers could match the walrus ivory traded by the Greenland Norse to specific hunting regions within the Arctic. This level of precision revealed that much of the ivory came from areas farther north than previously thought.
Did the Norse sail deep into the High Arctic?
These findings raised another critical question: If the ivory came from such remote Arctic regions, did the Greenland Norse possess the skills and technology to navigate those dangerous, ice-filled waters?
To explore this, researcher Greer Jarrett reconstructed possible sailing routes using traditional Norwegian boats, taking trial voyages to better understand the challenges faced by Norse sailors.
Jarrett discovered that walrus hunters likely departed from Norse settlements as soon as the sea ice retreated, taking advantage of a narrow seasonal window. During this time, they would sail up the coast, hunt walruses, process the hides and ivory, and store their catch onboard before returning home – all before the seas froze over again.
Encounters between Norse and Indigenous Arctic peoples
After making their dangerous journeys to the High Arctic, the Norse would have encountered more than just empty ice fields. The hunting grounds were not desolate – they were home to the Thule Inuit and possibly other Indigenous Arctic communities who hunted walruses and other sea mammals.
Research provides new evidence for early interactions between the European Norse and North American Indigenous peoples, supporting long-held theories about these encounters. It also highlights the North Water Polynya, a region of open water surrounded by ice, as an important site for these cross-cultural exchanges.
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