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Vikings discovered America 500 years before Christopher Columbus, study claims

Vikings discovered America 500 years before Christopher Columbus, study claims

Vikings discovered America 500 years before Christopher Columbus, study claims
Oct 20, 2021 1 min, 0 secs

Scientists looked at chopped wood L’Anse aux Meadows, which has been linked to a Nordic settlement dating back to c 1000AD.

The year 1021 AD is the earliest date in which a European presence in the Americas can be scientifically proven, according to a new study.

The chopping of wood by Vikings at L’Anse aux Meadows - a site in Newfoundland, Canada which has been linked to Erikson - was dated to exactly the year 1021 AD, the researchers say in the new study, published in the Nature journal.

The three pieces of wood studied, from three different trees, all came from contexts archaeologically attributable to the Vikings, the study said.

Study first author Dr Margot Kuitems, also of the University of Groningen, said: "Finding the signal from the solar storm 29 growth rings in from the bark allowed us to conclude that the cutting activity took place in the year 1021 AD.”.

All current data suggests that the whole endeavour was "somewhat short lived" - and the cultural and ecological legacy of the first European activity in the Americas is likely to have been small.

Dr Kuitems said: “1021 AD is the earliest year in which European presence in the Americas can be scientifically proven?

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