Gaby
For decades, people credited Christopher Columbus with “discovering” the Americas after his 1492 voyage. But in the 1960s, researchers uncovered a Viking settlement in North America. Located on Newfoundland, part of modern-day Canada, the site — L’Anse aux Meadows — dates to the 11th century. The find showed that Vikings were the first Europeans to reach North America long before Columbus.
A team of archaeologists at the University of Iceland published new findings in the journal Antiquity. They show Scandinavian seafarers reached North America as early as 985 AD — more than 500 years before Columbus.
What Researchers Discovered
The team analyzed wood used by Vikings for construction and other purposes, recovered from five Scandinavian sites in western Greenland, the Daily Mail reported.
Radiocarbon dating and species analysis showed some samples came from imported trees—either from Northern Europe or from North America. The presence of species native to North America pointed to an American origin.
Movement, conquests, and territories settled by the Scandinavians during the Viking Age from 800 to 1050
Researchers say the Vikings established extensive trade routes across the northwestern Atlantic and had the ships and knowledge to make transatlantic crossings.
Their report says voyages from Greenland to North America occurred throughout Scandinavian habitation of Greenland—roughly from 985 to 1450—after which the Norse abandoned the island for reasons that aren’t fully understood.
Some Scandinavian sagas mention importing wood from Vinland—a coastal area of North America along the Gulf of St. Lawrence, now part of Canada.
Archaeologists say the Vikings used North American wood for shipbuilding, construction, and artifact production. Local tree species were mostly burned for fuel and other domestic uses. Access to imported timber and large logs appears to have been mainly reserved for Scandinavian elites.
A 2021 study by researchers at the University of Groningen examined wooden artifacts from L’Anse aux Meadows, where Vikings lived around 1021 AD—nearly 471 years before Columbus. Overall, researchers have identified three different ancient Scandinavian settlements in North America.
That means Vikings reached the New World before other Europeans, as early as 985 AD.
