Vikings and Indigenous North Americans: New Walrus DNA Study Reveals Early Arctic Encounters

By examining ancient walrus DNA, an international research team has retraced the extensive ivory trade routes of the Viking Age, revealing more connections between Norse Vikings and Indigenous Arctic peoples. The study, published in Science Advances, highlights how Vikings ventured deep into the Arctic, interacting with the Thule Inuit and other Indigenous groups.

In medieval Europe, walrus ivory was a highly sought-after commodity, particularly after the Crusades disrupted the trade of elephant ivory. Norse explorers, driven by the need for new sources, expanded into the North Atlantic, establishing settlements in Iceland and Greenland. However, recent research reveals that the ivory traded in Europe came not just from areas near Viking settlements but from remote hunting grounds in the High Arctic.

“What really surprised us was that much of the walrus ivory exported back to Europe was originating in very remote hunting grounds located deep into the High Arctic. Previously, it has always been assumed that the Norse simply hunted walrus close to their main settlements in southwest Greenland,” said Peter Jordan, Professor of Archaeology at Lund University.

The researchers used genetic “fingerprinting” to trace precisely where the traded ivory originated. “We extracted ancient DNA from walrus samples recovered from a wide range of locations across the North Atlantic Arctic. With this information in place, we could then match the genetic profiles of walrus artefacts traded by Greenland Norse into Europe back to very specific Arctic hunting grounds,” explains Dr. Morten Tange Olsen, Associate Professor at the Globe Institute in Copenhagen.

Encounters with Indigenous Peoples

As Vikings ventured into the Arctic, they did not encounter an empty wilderness. The Thule Inuit and other Indigenous peoples had long been established in these regions, hunting walrus and other marine mammals. This research supports the theory that early contact and trade between the Norse and Indigenous Arctic cultures occurred as far back as the 11th century.

“These would have been the meeting of two entirely different cultural worlds,” said Jordan. “The Greenland Norse had European facial features, were probably bearded, dressed in woollen clothes, and were sailing in plank-built vessels; they harvested walrus at haul out sites with iron-tipped lances.”

In contrast, the Thule Inuit were Arctic-adapted specialists, and used sophisticated toggling harpoons that enabled them to hunt walrus in open waters. They would have been wearing warm and insulated fur clothing and would have had more Asian facial features; they paddled kayaks and used open umiak boats, all made from animal skins stretched over frames.

Though the exact nature of these interactions remains unknown, the study suggests a mix of curiosity, fascination, and mutual exchange. Jordan added, “Of course, we will never know precisely, but on a more human level these remarkable encounters, framed within the vast and intimidating landscapes of the High Arctic, would probably have involved a degree of curiosity, fascination and excitement, all encouraging social interaction, sharing and possibly exchange. We need to do much more work to properly understand these interactions and motivations, especially from an Indigenous as well as more ‘Eurocentric’ Norse perspective.”

Reconstructing Viking Voyages

To explore how the Norse reached such remote areas, Greer Jarrett, a doctoral researcher at Lund University, reconstructed sailing routes and took experimental voyages using traditional Norwegian boats. He found that the walrus hunters had a small seasonal window in which to travel north, hunt, and return before the Arctic seas froze over.

In the article, Jarrett and the other researchers explain how the Norse could have sailed as far north as the North Water Polynya, a body of open water southeast of Ellesmere Island:

We also reconstructed likely sailing routes to different walrus stocks and identified possible stopping points and overwintering stations. The combined results indicate that the smaller six-oared boats could have been rowed from the Western Settlement as far as the Qeqertarsuup Tunua (Disko Bay). However, it was also clear that longer-range expeditions to the Pikialasorsuaq (North Water Polynya) could only have been possible with the larger expeditionary sailing ships capable of making the 2- to 3-day crossing from Kitsissorsuit (Edderfugleøer) to Innaanganeq (Cape York). Deploying the larger ships, the Qeqertarsuup Tunua (Disko Bay) region could probably have been reached within 6 to 10 days.

However, sailing on as far as the Pikialasorsuaq (North Water Polynya) hunting grounds would have taken approximately 30 days in total. We estimate that the return journey would have been shorter due to more favorable weather conditions later in the summer, taking approximately 15 days. Assuming Norse expeditions departed the Western Settlement in early to mid-June, they would have reached the Pikialasorsuaq (North Water Polynya) in mid-July, giving the crews 2 to 4 weeks to acquire ivory, before departing back to the Norse settlements, and arriving home in late August as the autumn storms closed in.

Jarret summarizes that, “walrus hunters probably departed from the Norse settlements as soon as the sea ice retreated. Those aiming for the far north had a very tight seasonal window within which to travel up the coast, hunt walrus, process and store the hides and ivory onboard their vessels, and return home before the seas froze again.”

The article, “Greenland Norse walrus exploitation deep into the Arctic,” by Emily J. Ruiz-Puerta, Greer Jarrett, Morgan L. McCarthy, Shyong En Pan, Xénia Keighley, Magie Aiken, Giulia Zampirolo, Maarten J. J. E. Loonen, Anne Birgitte Gotfredsen, Lesley R. Howse, Paul Szpak, Snæbjörn Pálsson, Scott Rufolo, Hilmar J. Malmquist, Sean P. A. Desjardins, Morten Tange Olsen and Peter D. Jordan, appears in Science Advances. Click here to read it.