GREENLAND VIKING COLLAPSE: AN ORGANIC GEOCHEMICAL EXPOSITION

After banishment from both Norway and Iceland, Erik “the Red” Thorvaldsson established the first Norse settlement in Greenland; however, by the 15^th-century these colonies were abandoned. The principal narrative is one of “climate as executioner,” (McGovern, 1991) but this conclusion is based upon evidence limited by space and resolution. Geochemical reconstructions have only recently correlated human occupancy with paleoenvironmental conditions (D’Anjou et al., 2012).

Here we present analyses of organic biomarkers from a lacustrine sediment core in Eriksvatnet (SW Greenland), the alleged site of Thorvaldsson’s estate in Brattahlíð. A multi-proxy approach is applied to examine climate variability during the past thousand years using brGDGTs, plant leaf waxes, deuterium isotopes (δD), and fecal sterols. These data are used to elucidate the potential role of temperature and hydrology on the demise of the Norse Settlement in Østerbygden. They form a high-resolution record of human impact and paleoclimate, addressing the nature of climate change on the boom and bust of Norse Greenland. More broadly, it serves as a model for future investigations into the role of climate on human migration.

D’Anjou et al., 2012. PNAS 109, 20332-20337.

McGovern, T.H. 1991. Arctic Anthropology, 28, 77-100.