Greenland Norse walrus exploitation deep into the Arctic

Abstract

Walrus ivory was a prized commodity in medieval Europe and was supplied by Norse intermediaries who expanded across the North Atlantic, establishing settlements in Iceland and Greenland. However, the precise sources of the traded ivory have long remained unclear, raising important questions about the sustainability of commercial walrus harvesting, the extent to which Greenland Norse were able to continue mounting their own long-range hunting expeditions, and the degree to which they relied on trading ivory with the various Arctic Indigenous peoples that they were starting to encounter. We use high-resolution genomic sourcing methods to track walrus artifacts back to specific hunting grounds, demonstrating that Greenland Norse obtained ivory from High Arctic waters, especially the North Water Polynya, and possibly from the interior Canadian Arctic. These results substantially expand the assumed range of Greenland Norse ivory harvesting activities and support intriguing archaeological evidence for substantive interactions with Thule Inuit, plus possible encounters with Tuniit (Late Dorset Pre-Inuit).

Fig. 1.. Genetic sourcing of traded artifacts back to specific walrus stocks.

The Bayesian phylogeny includes walrus mitogenomes from 100 biological samples and 31 cultural artifacts. These biological samples were obtained from a wide range of geographic locations and chronological periods to reconstruct genetic diversity and stock locations at the time of the Norse Greenland settlements. Our results confirm that distinct walrus stocks were located in specific locations (Fig. 2 and table S1). This combined approach enabled the walrus artifacts recovered from trade and production centers in Europe and the main Greenland Norse settlements to be genetically sourced back to specific walrus stocks and particular Arctic hunting grounds (Fig. 2 and table S2). The phylogeny is rooted against the Pacific walrus (not shown). Black circles denote nodes with >90% posterior support. Figure: E.J.R.-P. and coauthors.

Fig. 2.. Patterns of Greenland Norse walrus exploitation shifted over time.

Dated walrus artifacts sourced to different Arctic hunting grounds (n = 31). Artifacts were allocated chronologically to either the Early Period or Late Period of Norse Greenland (before/after 1120 CE), plus allocated more specific date ranges if available (see table S2). Numbered bands are individual artifacts (for full provenance information, see table S2, using WLR0 + sample number); the colors match specific walrus stocks in the inset map (right). The main trends in exploitation indicate the following: (i) initial Norse harvesting focused on stocks near Iceland (II and III); (ii) Early Period Greenland Norse mainly harvested the local stock (IV) located near to their main settlements; and (iii) the increasing importance of High Arctic walrus stocks in the Late Period, especially the North Water Polynya (V), and also Foxe Basin (I and VI). Last, the following should also be noted (iv) even in the Early Period, Greenland Norse were also acquiring some ivory from distant walrus stocks (I, VI, and V); and (v) Late Period harvesting continued at the local stock (IV). The expanding geographic range of Greenland Norse walrus harvesting likely led to initial Tuniit encounters in several different areas; more definitive interactions with expanding Thule Inuit populations probably focused on the North Water Polynya (V). No artifacts were sourced to the Canadian Maritimes or to Svalbard (see table S2 and the main text). Figure: E.J.R.-P. and coauthors.

Fig. 3.. Experimental insights into Greenland Norse seafaring capabilities: example of a “smaller” vessel (with oars and sail).

This is a Norwegian fyring during sea trials. Note the very limited space for cargo (Roskilde Fjord, Denmark, June 2023). Photo: G.J.

Fig. 4.. Experimental insights into Greenland Norse seafaring capabilities: example of a larger expeditionary sailing vessel.

This is a Norwegian fembøring, a direct descendant of the Norse clinker tradition used in Greenland (Vestfjord, northern Norway, May 2022). Only these larger sailing ships, owned and sponsored by richer farmers and elites, would have been capable of reaching the North Water Polynya during single-summer expeditions. One major risk was becoming trapped in the expanding late-summer pack ice, forcing the crew to overwinter en route, as evidenced by the Kingittorsuaq runestone (Fig. 5) carved during the Spring, and dating to ca. 1250 to 1300 CE (see Supplementary Text). Photo: G.J.

Fig. 5.. Postulated south-north maritime corridor linking the permanent Greenland Norse settlements into Northwest Greenland and High Arctic Canada.

This schematic map depicts the location of the main Norse settlements, primary navigation routes, and likely stopping points in relation to major walrus hunting grounds (for further details, see Supplementary Text). Map: G.J.

Fig. 6.. Early circumpolar globalization: schematic reconstruction of the Arctic Ivory Road.

Shifting walrus exploitation patterns suggest a “domino” model: the Norse systematically depleted more accessible walrus stocks to supply the booming European ivory trade; the search for fresh sources of ivory was one factor driving Norse expansion into the Northwest Atlantic, including initial colonization of Iceland, and the establishment of Norse settlements in Southwest Greenland. Exploration of coastal North America (Helluland, Markland, and Vinland) by the Norse likely resulted in initial full-circle encounters with various Indigenous North American groups across a broad “contact” frontier running from the Canadian Maritimes up to the High Arctic. However, most ivory in the Early Period (pre 1120 CE) was coming from the local stock in West Greenland (IV). By the Late Period (after 1120 CE), Greenland Norse communities were mounting regular long-range expeditions to the High Arctic to harvest ivory from the North Water Polynya (Stock V), either via direct hunting, or intercultural trade and exchange, possibly with Tuniit groups, and more probably with the Thule Inuit who were expanding across the Canadian Arctic and into this area. These routine intercultural interactions at the North Water Polynya peoples signal the onset of early circumpolar globalization, with numerous Norse artifacts recovered from Thule Inuit sites dating to this interval. The Greenland Norse may also have ventured deeper into the interior Canadian Arctic waters, or more likely hunted walrus and traded ivory with Arctic Indigenous peoples at intermediate locations (Stocks I,VI). With elite consumption trends in remote European urban centers driving these early full-circle global interactions, our preliminary reconstructions of the emerging Arctic Ivory Road bear interesting parallels with Silk Road that spanned Medieval Eurasia during the same period. Figure: E.J.R.-P. and coauthors.