N THE YEAR 985, ERIK THE RED, A VIKING EXPLORER, LED A GROUP OF ICELANDIC FARMERS TO ESTABLISH A SETTLEMENT ON THE WEST COAST OF GREENLAND. Archaeological findings indicate that the settlement thrived for more than four centuries, but the story of the settlement left a lasting impact. Surprisingly, the pursuit of locating the descendants of these settlers greatly influenced European and American perceptions of Greenland for many generations. In his recently published book titled “The Vanished Settlers of Greenland: In Search of a Legend and Its Legacy,” Associate Professor Robert Rix asserts that the lost Norse settlement played a...
