Helluland
Helluland is the name given to one of the three lands discovered by Leif Eriksson around 1000 AD on the North Atlantic coast of North America. [1]
Helluland was characterized in the Icelandic sagas (the Eiríks saga rauða and the Grœnlendinga saga) as a land of flat stones, or ground of flat rock (the meaning of its name: "Land of Flat Stones" Wiktionary:häll). Historians generally agree that Helluland was Baffin Island in the present-day Canadian territory of Nunavut.[2]
From the testimony of the sagas, the Norse explorers probably made contact with the native Dorset culture of the region, people whom the sagas term as skrælings. Historians suggest the contact had no major cultural ramifications for either side.
Helluland was the first of three lands in North America visited by Eriksson. He decided against trying to settle there because he found the land inhospitable. He continued south to Markland (probably Labrador) and Vinland (Newfoundland or another southern area[3]).
In September 2008, the local Nunatsiaq News reported on work by an archeological team. Their evaluation of archaeological artifacts of yarn, rats, tally sticks, a carved wooden face mask depicting Caucasian features, and possible architectural remains, constitute evidence suggesting European traders and possibly settlers on Baffin Island not later than 1000 AD. The material suggests they may have settled there for some time. The origin of the Europeans is unclear. The report states: "Dating of some yarn and other artifacts, presumed to be left by Vikings on Baffin Island, have produced an age that predates the Vikings by several hundred years. So [...] you have to consider the possibility that as remote as it may seem, these finds may represent evidence of contact with Europeans prior to the Vikings' arrival in Greenland. [4]
[edit] See also
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[edit] References
- ^ Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga (National Museum of Natural History, Arctic Studies Center)
- ^ Markland and Helluland (The Viking Network)
- ^ ""Is L'Anse aux Meadows Vinland?"". L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site of Canada. Parks Canada. 2003. http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/nl/meadows/natcul/vinland_e.asp. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
- ^ Nunatsiaq News
