So, when did the Vikings arrive in north America?
In the early 60’s, scientists uncovered an early Viking settlement in Newfoundland. Using carbon dating, the researchers said the settlement was inhabited between 990 and 1050 AD.
Now, Dutch scientists have used a new kind of radiocarbon dating to determine an exact year, 1021. That’s the year the Vikings established a settlement in the new world.
The scientists analyzed radiocarbons in the annual tree rings of three chunks of wood found at the Viking site. The wood showed signs of a metal blade. That’s one sign it was Vikings and not Native Americans. The Vikings had metal. The local first people in Newfoundland did not.
So the Vikings lived at the settlement one thousand years ago. The year 1021.
