探花直播 of Cambridge - Norse

Over-hunting walruses contributed to the collapse of Norse Greenland

fpjl2 — Mon, 06 Jan 2020 12:30:00 +0000

Medieval Greenlanders may have chased dwindling walrus herds ever farther north in an effort to maintain their economy, when the value of walrus ivory tanked after the introduction of elephant tusks into European markets in the 1200s.聽聽

Lost Norse of Greenland fuelled the medieval ivory trade, ancient walrus DNA suggests

fpjl2 — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 23:53:31 +0000

探花直播Icelandic Sagas tell of Erik the Red: exiled for murder in the late 10th century he fled to southwest Greenland, establishing its first Norse settlement.

探花直播colony took root, and by the mid-12th century there were two major settlements with a population of thousands. Greenland even gained its own bishop.

By the end of the 15th century, however, the Norse of Greenland had vanished 鈥� leaving only abandoned ruins and an enduring mystery.聽聽聽聽聽聽

Past theories as to why these communities collapsed include a change in climate and a hubristic adherence to failing farming techniques.

Some have suggested that trading commodities聽with Europe 鈥撀爉ost notably walrus tusks 鈥� may have been vital to sustaining the Greenlanders. Ornate items including crucifixes and chess pieces were fashioned from walrus ivory by craftsmen of the age. However, the source of this ivory has never been empirically established.

Now, researchers from the universities of Cambridge and Oslo have studied ancient DNA from offcuts of tusks and skulls, most found on the sites of former ivory workshops across Europe, in order to trace the origin of the animals used in the medieval trade.

In doing so they have discovered an evolutionary split in the walrus, and revealed that the Greenland colonies may have had a 鈥渘ear monopoly鈥� on the supply of ivory to Western Europe for over two hundred years.

For the latest study, published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the research team analysed walrus samples found in several medieval trading centres 鈥� Trondheim, Bergen, Oslo, Dublin, London, Schleswig and Sigtuna 鈥� mostly dating between 900 and 1400 CE.

探花直播DNA showed that, during the last Ice Age, the Atlantic walrus divided into two ancestral lines, which researchers term 鈥渆astern鈥� and 鈥渨estern鈥�. Walruses of the eastern lineage are widespread across much of the Arctic, including Scandinavia. Those of the western, however, are unique to the waters between western Greenland and Canada.聽聽聽聽

Finds from the early years of the ivory trade were mostly from the eastern lineage. Yet as demand grew from the 12th century onwards, the research team discovered that Europe鈥檚 ivory supply shifted almost exclusively to tusks from the western lineage.

They say that ivory from western linage walruses must have been supplied by the Norse Greenlanders 鈥� by hunting and perhaps also by trade with the indigenous peoples of Arctic North America.

鈥� 探花直播results suggest that by the 1100s Greenland had become the main supplier of walrus ivory to Western Europe 鈥� a near monopoly even,鈥� said Dr James H. Barrett, study co-author from the 探花直播 of Cambridge鈥檚 Department of Archaeology.

鈥� 探花直播change in the ivory trade coincides with the flourishing of the Norse settlements on Greenland. 探花直播populations grew and elaborate churches were constructed.

鈥淟ater Icelandic accounts suggest that in the 1120s, Greenlanders used walrus ivory to secure the right to their own bishopric from the king of Norway. Tusks were also used to pay tithes to the church,鈥� said Barrett.

He points out that the 11th to 13th centuries were a time of demographic and economic boom in Europe, with growing demand from urban centres and the elite served by transporting commodities from increasingly distant sources.

鈥� 探花直播demands for luxury goods produced from ivory may have helped the far-flung Norse communities in Greenland survive for centuries,鈥� said Barrett.

Co-author Dr Sanne Boessenkool of the 探花直播 of Oslo said: 鈥淲e knew from the start that analysing ancient DNA would have the potential for new historical insights, but the findings proved to be particularly spectacular.鈥�

探花直播new study tells us less about the end of the Greenland colonies, say Barrett and colleagues. However, they note that it is hard to find evidence of walrus ivory imports to Europe that date after 1400.

Elephant ivory eventually became the material of choice for Europe鈥檚 artisans. 鈥淐hanging tastes could have led to a decline in the walrus ivory market of the Middle Ages,鈥� said Barrett.

Ivory exports from Greenland could have stalled for other reasons: over-hunting can cause walrus populations to abandon their coastal 鈥渉aulouts鈥�; the 鈥淟ittle Ice Age鈥� 鈥� a sustained period of lower temperatures 鈥� began in the 14th century; the Black Death ravaged Europe.聽聽聽

"Whatever caused the cessation of Europe鈥檚 trade in walrus ivory, it must have been significant for the end of the Norse Greenlanders,鈥� said Barrett. 鈥淎n overreliance on a single commodity, the very thing which gave the society its initial resilience, may have also contained the seeds of its vulnerability.鈥�

探花直播heyday of the walrus ivory trade saw the material used for exquisitely carved items during Europe鈥檚 Romanesque art period. 探花直播church produced much of this, with major ivory workshops in ecclesiastical centres such as Canterbury, UK.

Ivory games were also popular. 探花直播Viking board game hnefatafl was often played with walrus ivory pieces, as was chess, with the famous Lewis chessmen among the most stunning examples of Norse carved ivory.

Tusks were exported still attached to the walrus skull and snout, which formed a neat protective package that was broken up at workshops for ivory removal. These remains allowed the study to take place, as DNA extraction from carved artefacts would be far too damaging.

Co-author Dr Bastiaan Star of the 探花直播 of Oslo said: 鈥淯ntil now, there was no quantitative data to support the story about walrus ivory from Greenland. Walruses could have been hunted in the north of Russia, and perhaps even in Arctic Norway at that time. Our research now proves beyond doubt that much of the ivory traded to Europe during the Middle Ages really did come from Greenland鈥�.

探花直播research was funded by the Leverhulme Trust, Nansenfondet and the Research Council of Norway.

New DNA analysis reveals that, before their mysterious disappearance, the Norse colonies of Greenland had a 鈥渘ear monopoly鈥� on Europe鈥檚 walrus ivory supply. An overreliance on this trade may have contributed to Norse Greenland鈥檚 collapse when the medieval market declined.

探花直播very thing which gave the society its initial resilience, may have also contained the seeds of its vulnerability

James Barrett

Left: James H. Barrett. Right: Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

Left: Upper jaw bones of a walrus, with tusks removed. Right: an elaborately-carved ecclesiastical walrus ivory plaque.

探花直播text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright 漏探花直播 of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified.聽 All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways 鈥� as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Viking mass grave linked to elite killers of the medieval world

bjb42 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:01:55 +0000

A crew of Viking mercenaries 鈥� some of the fiercest and most feared killers in the medieval world 鈥� could be the occupants of a mysterious mass grave in the south of England, according to a new theory.

探花直播intriguing hypothesis is being put forward in a documentary, Viking Apocalypse, which will premiere on National Geographic UK on Wednesday, 25 January, and attempts to piece together the identities of a group of men who were apparently the victims of a horrific mass execution around the turn of the 11^th century.

Their burial pit, at Ridgeway Hill, Dorset, was found in 2009 while archaeologists were working in the area ahead of the construction of a new road. In it, researchers made the gruesome discovery of the decapitated bodies of 54 young men. All had been dumped in the shallow grave, and their heads had been piled up on the far side.

Radiocarbon dating revealed that the remains belonged to men murdered at some point around the year 1000. This suggested a connection with the Vikings, because the Anglo-Saxons along the south coast at that time lived under constant threat of Viking raids. Isotope testing on the men鈥檚 teeth subsequently revealed that they had indeed come from Scandinavia. But exactly who they were has remained a mystery.

Now a 探花直播 of Cambridge researcher is putting forward a compelling new theory about the identity of the murder victims. 探花直播documentary follows Dr Britt Baillie, from the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, as she examines the remains, as well as documents from the period and other material evidence, to reopen the file on what happened in Dorset a thousand years ago.

While historians will probably never agree conclusively about who the men were, Baillie鈥檚 analysis draws her to the conclusion that they may have been Viking mercenaries who modelled themselves on, or behaved in a similar way to the legendary Jomsvikings 鈥� a brotherhood of elite killers whose strict military code involved never showing fear, and never fleeing in the face of the enemy unless totally outnumbered.

Allegedly founded by Harald Bluetooth, the Jomsvikings are thought to have been based at a stronghold called Jomsborg on the Baltic coast. At a time when Vikings were feared across Europe, they were known as perhaps the fiercest of them all 鈥� a reputation which even earned them their own saga.

鈥� 探花直播legends and stories of the Jomsvikings travelled around the medieval world and would almost certainly have been indicative of some of the practices of other bands of mercenaries or may even have been imitated by other groups,鈥� Baillie said.

探花直播documentary places the deaths in the context of the early 11^th century and the troubled rule of Aethelred II 鈥� better known to history as Aethelred 鈥渢he Unready鈥�.

Although it is very unusual to find evidence of mass executions from the early medieval period, Aethelred鈥檚 reign is an exception. Following a series of Viking raids and threats to his own life, Aethelred decided, in 1002, to have all the Danish men living in England murdered on St Brice鈥檚 Day, 13 November 鈥� an event which became known as the St Brice鈥檚 Day massacre.

Historians differ about how many people were actually killed and whether those who were murdered were residents of the Danelaw (the Viking-occupied part of England at the time), or just mercenaries based elsewhere. Remains linked to the event have been found in Oxford, and it is likely that similar massacres took place in Bristol, Gloucester and London.

探花直播bodies found in Dorset are quite possibly the victims of a similar act of butchery. Aethelred was known for playing divide and conquer with bands of Scandinavian mercenaries who worked for him, and it may be that these Vikings had fallen out of favour with the king. Certainly, the number of bodies corresponds to the number that would have been required to man a Viking longship of the period.

Yet the remains in Dorset also suggest that these men were something unique. Researchers have found that one of the men鈥檚 teeth had incisions. This rare feature could, it is believed, be the result of the victim filing his teeth deliberately to demonstrate his bravery and status.

Further analysis then reveals that the St. Brice鈥檚 day massacre victims in Oxford were killed in a frenzied mob attack. However, the Ridgeway Hill individuals were systematically executed. They were beheaded from the front - just like the warriors in the Jomsviking saga. In the saga, one captured Viking says: 鈥淚 am content to die as are all our comrades. But I will not let myself be slaughtered like a sheep. I would rather face the blow. Strike straight at my face and watch carefully if I pale at all.鈥�

Both traits link the execution victims to a group which, if not the Jomsvikings themselves, had similar principles and beliefs. But Baillie also finds further written evidence to support the idea. A source commissioned by Queen Emma, Aethelred鈥檚 second wife, hints that there was a group of Viking mercenaries somewhere in England at this time led by Thorkell the Tall, an alleged Jomsviking.

鈥淭horkell鈥檚 story is itself unclear and shrouded in legend,鈥� Baillie added. 鈥淏ut Emma鈥檚 record connects Jomsvikings to England at exactly this time. Clearly these men had shown a level of bravery similar to the Jomsviking code. So while we cannot be certain about who they were, there are a number of tie-ins that take us down that route.鈥�

A mass grave found in Dorset could belong to a crew of Viking mercenaries who terrorised Europe in the 11th century 鈥� according to a new documentary on National Geographic which pieces together the story behind the burial.

Clearly these men had shown a level of bravery similar to the Jomsviking code.

Britt Baillie

Lion TV.

Finds from the mass grave in Dorset.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.

Yes

Cambridge Ideas - Memories Of Old Awake

bjb42 — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:26:43 +0000

Emily is discovering that the sagas are closely intertwined with the breath-taking landscapes and the people who live there.

探花直播sagas were copied in manuscripts in Iceland from the medieval period until the early 20^th century, and the stories were passed down from one generation to another over many hundreds of years.

Cambridge 探花直播 academic, Dr Emily Lethbridge, is breathing new life and understanding into the centuries-old Sagas of Icelanders (脥slendingas枚gur) during a unique year-long research trip.

Emily is discovering that the sagas are closely intertwined with the breath-taking landscapes and the people who live there

Cambridge Ideas - Memories Of Old Awake

探花直播 of Cambridge

Still from Memories of old awake

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.

Yes