Evidence for European presence in the Americas in ad 1021

Transatlantic exploration took place centuries before the crossing of Columbus. Physical evidence for early European presence in the Americas can be found in Newfoundland, Canada1,2. However, it has thus far not been possible to determine when this activity took place3,4,5. Here we provide evidence...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature
Main Authors: Kuitems, Margot, Wallace, Birgitta L., Lindsay, Charles, Scifo, Andrea, Doeve, Petra, Jenkins, Kevin, Lindauer, Susanne, Erdil, Pınar, Ledger, Paul M., Forbes, Véronique, Vermeeren, Caroline, Friedrich, Ronny, Dee, Michael W.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2022
Subjects:
Newfoundland
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/11370/b7e3e203-2342-40b8-b5e0-ad1e36a6c7a8
https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/b7e3e203-2342-40b8-b5e0-ad1e36a6c7a8
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03972-8
https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/204883332/s41586_021_03972_8.pdf
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Summary:Transatlantic exploration took place centuries before the crossing of Columbus. Physical evidence for early European presence in the Americas can be found in Newfoundland, Canada1,2. However, it has thus far not been possible to determine when this activity took place3,4,5. Here we provide evidence that the Vikings were present in Newfoundland in AD 1021. We overcome the imprecision of previous age estimates by making use of the cosmic-ray-induced upsurge in atmospheric radiocarbon concentrations in AD 993 (ref. 6). Our new date lays down a marker for European cognisance of the Americas, and represents the first known point at which humans encircled the globe. It also provides a definitive tie point for future research into the initial consequences of transatlantic activity, such as the transference of knowledge, and the potential exchange of genetic information, biota and pathologies7,8.

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