Eastern Settlement

Map of the Eastern settlement of the Norse in medieval Greenland. The area is within the modern municipalities of Nanortalik, Qaqortoq and Narsaq. The known major farms and churches are identified on the map as well as some probable geographical names. The names are the English versions of the Norse names.

The Eastern Settlement (Old Norse: Eystribygð, Icelandic: Eystribyggð) was the largest and first of the three areas of Greenland, settled in approximately 985 AD by Norse farmers from Iceland (the other settlements being the Western and Middle Settlements). At its peak it contained approximately 4,000 inhabitants. The last written record from the Eastern Settlement is of a wedding in 1408; thus it ceased to be occupied after around 1410-1420 AD, about 60–70 years longer than the Western Settlement.

Despite its name, the Eastern Settlement was more south than east of its companion and, like the Western Settlement, was located on the southwestern tip of Greenland at the head of long fjords: Tunulliarfik Fjord or Eiriksfjord, Igaliku or Einarsfjord, Sermilik Fjord, to name a few (see also the map).

Approximately 500 groups of ruins of Norse farms are found in the area, including 16 church ruins (see Brattahlíð, Garðar and Hvalsey).

The economy of the medieval Norse settlements was based on livestock farming - mainly sheep and cattle, with significant supplement from seal hunting. A climate deterioration in the 14th Century may have increased the demand for winter fodder and at the same time decreased productivity of hay meadows. Isotope analysis of bones excated at archaeological investigations in the Norse settlements have found that fishing played an increasing economic role towards the end of the settlement's life. While the diet of the first settlers consisted of 80% agricultural products and 20% marine food, from the 14th century the Greenland Norsemen had 50–80% of their diet from the sea.

Sources

• Diamond, Jared (2005): Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed. New York: Penguin.