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Lost Norse of Greenland fueled the medieval ivory trade, ancient walrus DNA suggests
Popular Archeology ^ | Tuesday, August 7, 2018 | University of Cambridge

Posted on 08/17/2018 12:55:33 AM PDT by SunkenCiv

Some have suggested that trading commodities – most notably walrus tusks – with Europe may have been vital to sustaining the Greenlanders. Ornate items including crucifixes and chess pieces were fashioned from walrus ivory by craftsmen of the age. However, the source of this ivory has never been empirically established.

Now, researchers from the universities of Cambridge and Oslo have studied ancient DNA from offcuts of tusks and skulls, most found on the sites of former ivory workshops across Europe, in order to trace the origin of the animals used in the medieval trade.

In doing so they have discovered an evolutionary split in the walrus, and revealed that the Greenland colonies may have had a “near monopoly” on the supply of ivory to Western Europe for over two hundred years.

...during the last Ice Age, the Atlantic walrus divided into two ancestral lines, which researchers term “eastern” and “western”. Walruses of the eastern lineage are widespread across much of the Arctic, including Scandinavia. Those of the western, however, are unique to the waters between western Greenland and Canada.

Finds from the early years of the ivory trade were mostly from the eastern lineage. Yet as demand grew from the 12th century onwards, the research team discovered that Europe’s ivory supply shifted almost exclusively to tusks from the western lineage.

The new study tells us less about the end of the Greenland colonies, say Barrett and colleagues. However, they note that it is hard to find evidence of walrus ivory imports to Europe that date after 1400.

Elephant ivory eventually became the material of choice for Europe’s artisans.

(Excerpt) Read more at popular-archaeology.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: canada; godsgravesglyphs; greenland; helixmakemineadouble; iceland; ivory; lewischessman; lewischessmen; norse; scotland; scotlandyet; vikings; vinland; walrus; walrusivory
This is an example of an elaborately-carved ecclesiastical walrus ivory plaque from the beginning of the medieval walrus ivory trade, featuring the figure of Christ, together with St Mary and St Peter, and believed to date from the 10th or 11th century. Found in North Elmham, Norfolk, UK, in the 19th century, and currently exhibited in the University of Cambridge’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge

This is an example of an elaborately-carved ecclesiastical walrus ivory plaque from the beginning of the medieval walrus ivory trade, featuring the figure of Christ, together with St Mary and St Peter, and believed to date from the 10th or 11th century. Found in North Elmham, Norfolk, UK, in the 19th century, and currently exhibited in the University of Cambridge’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge

1 posted on 08/17/2018 12:55:33 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
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2200 year old walrus bones suggest the most famous medieval chess set might be Icelandic in origin
Icelandmag | September 28, 2015 | staff
Posted on 09/30/2015 1:06:00 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3342775/posts

Crystal Amulet Poses Question On Early Christianity (Denmark - 100AD)
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Buddha statue from 6th c found in Viking hoard in Helgo, Sweden
Biblical Archaeology Review | March/April 2005 | “Worldwide” editor
Posted on 04/26/2005 11:26:07 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1391864/posts

Evidence of Viking/Norse metalworking in Arctic Canada
Eurekalert! | December 15, 2014 | Dawn Peters
Posted on 12/17/2014 7:39:36 AM PST by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3238149/posts


2 posted on 08/17/2018 1:01:40 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (www.tapatalk.com/groups/godsgravesglyphs/, forum.darwincentral.org, www.gopbriefingroom.com)
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...

3 posted on 08/17/2018 1:02:18 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (www.tapatalk.com/groups/godsgravesglyphs/, forum.darwincentral.org, www.gopbriefingroom.com)
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To: SunkenCiv

When one goes a-Viking, one is supposed to return with treasures such as the ones above.

Most of the items found, referenced above, were stolen from my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great Uncle Ole.

To whom do we present our petition to have them returned to the family?

Norski


4 posted on 08/17/2018 1:28:22 AM PDT by Norski
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To: Norski
Petition? That sound you hear is your axe-swingin' ancestors rolling in the grave.

5 posted on 08/17/2018 1:39:19 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (www.tapatalk.com/groups/godsgravesglyphs/, forum.darwincentral.org, www.gopbriefingroom.com)
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To: SunkenCiv

You post the best articles!

Thanks!


6 posted on 08/17/2018 4:59:18 AM PDT by Bartholomew Roberts
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To: SunkenCiv
Life was good for the first four centuries of the Norse in Greenland. You look at that carving and imagine the detail before the faces and most protruding parts wore off with time. Then look at typical artwork of that era where even portraits of royalty are just a little more sophisticated than your average 8 or 9 year old's crayon drawing.

The elaborate cathedrals built by the Norse in Greenland (a relatively small population which probably never exceeded 25,000 in total in all locations) is yet another testimony to the high civilization they built.

It could have taken as little as a decade for them to collapse. The larger eastern settlement discovered that the western settlement had collapsed and carefully buried the dead sometime around 1415. In just a few short years thereafter, they suffered the same fate and there was nobody around to bury them.

Not long thereafter, the little ice age made it to their ancestral homeland of Iceland and brought widespread starvation and near collapse. It was only because of a massive change in diet to include copious amounts of fish that Iceland managed to survive.

7 posted on 08/17/2018 6:37:10 AM PDT by Vigilanteman (ObaMao: Fake America, Fake Messiah, Fake Black man. How many fakes can you fit into one Zer0?)
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To: SunkenCiv

That is beautiful.


8 posted on 08/17/2018 6:59:44 AM PDT by rdl6989
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To: Bartholomew Roberts
A big hearty thank you!

9 posted on 08/17/2018 9:56:13 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (www.tapatalk.com/groups/godsgravesglyphs/, forum.darwincentral.org, www.gopbriefingroom.com)
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To: nutmeg

bookmark


10 posted on 08/17/2018 9:57:17 AM PDT by nutmeg
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To: SunkenCiv

No doubt, but we do deliver our humor firmly tongue-in-cheek.

My branch of the family emigrated 3 generations back. I am not of completely Scandinavian blood, although I have half-brothers that are.

In addition, you may note that the Scandinavian countries are now, and have been for many years, in the forefront of SJW, Socialism, Atheism, etc. (There is a picture here somewhere on FR of what I believe is the Danish, the Swedish or Norwegian ruling council or contractors, all middle-aged white males, wearing pink knitted “p-hats”.)

Lars, Cleaver-of-Heads, and Erik the Red, are quite in abeyance at this time. There may be many more of Viking blood in England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland than back in Norseland, since that was what excess single males did at the time. . . China and India now have excess males . . .


11 posted on 08/18/2018 1:07:47 AM PDT by Norski
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To: Norski
Yeah, the DNA test lit up with a nice big chunk of Scandinavian, thanks to the British Isles and German ancestry, because the Vikings, they got around.

China and India have a boomin' abortion biz, and fathers permitted only one child want sons. In a relatively short while they'll be caring for one or both parents, with no siblings or in-laws, no spouse, no kids to help out, and not many years after that will be geriatric, with no kids, siblings, in-laws, nieces, or nephews, and only first cousins of a similar age (if any). That's where all the AI robots will end up.

12 posted on 08/18/2018 6:03:43 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (www.tapatalk.com/groups/godsgravesglyphs/, forum.darwincentral.org, www.gopbriefingroom.com)
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To: Vigilanteman

Their surviving construction in Greenland isn’t too elaborate, it’s not unlikely that the timber construction was recycled for emigration vessels to get out, or burned on some long, cold night. AFAIK there’s just the one ruined church that survives, Hvalsey:

https://visitgreenland.com/wp-content/uploads/a-view-inside-the-hvalsey-church-ruin-in-south-greenland-705x529.jpg

https://visitgreenland.com/wp-content/uploads/a-view-inside-the-hvalsey-church-ruin-in-south-greenland-1400x1050.jpg


13 posted on 08/18/2018 6:12:25 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (www.tapatalk.com/groups/godsgravesglyphs/, forum.darwincentral.org, www.gopbriefingroom.com)
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To: SunkenCiv

I suppose you don’t find Stonehenge all that impressive either. Sorry, but I do, considering what the respective societies had at that time.


14 posted on 08/18/2018 1:56:08 PM PDT by Vigilanteman (ObaMao: Fake America, Fake Messiah, Fake Black man. How many fakes can you fit into one Zer0?)
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To: Vigilanteman

The builders did a decent job with found stone (they don’t look like much work went into them, apart from selecting them for their existing sizes), but that’s literally the only stone church from the Viking era on Greenland. It’s still possible they had 25,000 population at their peak, but the structures must have been of timber, and of modest size, as this stone one is.


15 posted on 08/19/2018 1:14:16 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (www.tapatalk.com/groups/godsgravesglyphs/, forum.darwincentral.org, www.gopbriefingroom.com)
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