Viking Hocus Pocus

There have been a number of hypotheses put forward as reasons for the collapse of Norse Greenland. I've reviewed two of the main ones - ecological disaster and climate, but surely the Norse had some theories as to the cause of their changing circumstances. In the last few decades of their existence in Greenland there are records of witch burning.  Is it possible that the Norse blamed the colder climate and decreased agricultural productivity on witchcraft?

Behringer (1999) shows the link between the Little Ice Age and the persecution of witchcraft. There were many witch-hunts during the Little Ice Age. During the 14th century witchcraft was increasingly used to explain “unnatural” events, particularly climatic ones as weather-making is a traditional power of witches. Therefore, it is quite plausible that the Norse were burning witches because they believed they were responsible for worsening climate and loss of pasture. 

Condemned witches

The introduction of witch burning to bring justice for climate change shows that the Norse were aware of the deterioration of their way of life, but it also highlights the struggle of the society to cope with such changes. The creation of this scapegoat didn't originate from the church as popularly thought, or from the state, but from the general population. This is because the general population needed accountability and an explanation for the changes society was experiencing. The population’s opinion that the church and state had failed in taking decisive action to stop the society’s downfall is evident. This division, shows the beginning of the breakdown of the societal structures that for so long had been a critical to Norse society’s survival.

Chasing ice

Modern day Greenlanders aren't having to adapt to decreasing temperatures like their Viking ancestors but the opposite change of increasing temperatures.

Something that seems synonymous with global warming is the melting of the Greenland ice sheet. In July the fastest melting rates ever were recorded further deepening concerns about the imminence of the impacts of climate change (The Guardian).

I came across this trailer for a documentary that has been recording glacial melting. Its set in Iceland not Greenland but it really sends home the message about just how much the environment is changing in the northern most parts of our planet. 

However, as many academics argue that it was the increasing bitterness of the climate that drove the Norse colony to collapse, surely our current global warming would benefit Greenland today. Have a look at the video below which discusses whether the modern Greenlanders are the real winners of global warming. 

Abrupt climate changes

In response to my last post in which I detailed the high uncertainty  both chronologically and geographically of climate data: I came across a recent article by D’Andrea et al. (2011) which presents a record of temperature changes in Greenland. The climate history of Greenland was reconstructed from lake sediments in Kangerlussuaq, close to the Western Settlement. 

As the lake is so close to the original Viking settlement it more accurately indicates the air temperatures the Inuit/Dorset/Norse people would have experienced. This is a much needed improvement from temperatures reconstructed from ice cores from the Greenland ice sheet which is situated miles away. Furthermore, it was shown that ice-free regions have more temperature variability than the Greenland ice sheet. Thus the ice sheet isn't accurate enough to infer climate forces on the Norse society.

D'Andrea et al., (2011) found the Norse did colonise Greenland during a warm spell (figure 2.)  In addition, it was also discovered that the Norse Society collapsed just after a particularly cold period. This change in temperature was very abrupt (4^oC in approx. 80 years). This puts into perspective the increase of 0.8^oC over the last 150 years. D'Andrea et al., (2011) stresses that it is the magnitude rather than the rate of change that matters. This rapid and large decrease in temperatures must have greatly increased the vulnerability of the Vikings living in Norse Greenland. 

Figure 2. 

This article showed temperature changes at a fine decadal resolution. However, I think that when technology permitting a much finer - yearly record of temperature changes is needed. This is because the Norse were resilient enough to withstand one or two years of harsher climates as long as milder climates followed. If it was that there were decades which were solidly cold then climate change must have been the key factor that pushed this society over the edge. Although this raises the question as to how the Norse survived such cold conditions for so long and have collapsed? On the other hand, if there were periods of slightly warmer conditions, it begs the question as to why these failed to save them?

It got cold and they died

If you’re looking for a single cause in the collapse of Norse Greenland then climate change often gets the vote of blame. Many historians attribute any societal change to fluctuations in climate. The quote above, which was adapted from McGovern’s paper (1991) is the one that best encapsulates the role climate change had in the demise of Norse Greenland.

A very cold Viking

Climate change is a popular theory for two reasons, firstly because of the disastrous impacts it can have on  other factors, for example decreased temperatures lead to more sea ice which reduces the amount of trade that can be done with Europe. The second reason is because the colonisation and collapse of Norse society correlates closely with severe changes in climate.

The Medieval Warm Period (MWP) was a particularly warm period in climatic history between 800-1300 A.D., the warmest until recent decades. As you may remember the Norse arrived in Greenland in the 985 A.D. and so colonised in a period that was highly conducive to growing pasture and rearing livestock. However, in the period between the 1300-1850 A.D. the climate became markedly colder, so cold in fact it’s called the Little Ice Age (LIA). Such cold conditions meant a number of problems for the Norse: a great reduction in hay production which meant that fewer livestock could be reared, and reduced trade and communication with mainland Europe. By around 1420, the LIA was at its coldest and this corresponds nicely with the estimated time of Norse societal collapse.

Evidently, the parts of this puzzle fit together so well that surely, we must be able to conclude that climate change is the key factor in the collapse of Norse Greenland. However, Seaver (1996) points out that much more research needs to be done on the geography of changing climate within Greenland before fingers can be pointed. This is best highlighted by the fact that the Eastern Settlement was adversely affected by drift ice, and so was affected by climate change more than the Western Settlement, and yet the Western Settlement collapsed earlier. Thus, we don’t yet have a chronologically or geographically accurate profile of climate change and its impacts on the colony and so it isn't as simple as “it got cold and they died”. 

Cascading impacts of environmental degradation

In my last post I concluded that Norse Greenland society didn't collapse because of ecocide. However, environmental damage in the form of deforestation, turf cutting and soil erosion did cause the Norse many difficulties and magnified the society's vulnerabilities. I created the diagram below to illustrate the cascading impacts caused from disturbing Greenland's fragile environmental equilibrium (Amorosi et al., 1997; Berglung, 1986; Diamond, 2005; Dugmore et al., 2007; Edwards et al., 2011; Hamilton et al., 2000; Jacobsen 1987; Jakobsen, 1991)

Environmental degradation is shown to influence three of Diamond's (2005) factors in the demise of societies: climate change, hostile neighbours and friendly trading partners; as shown by the boxes highlighted in red. This helps to show the complexity of societal collapse and how it isn't as simple as one-factor-fits all, but that the factor had differing but connected roles in the downfall of Norse Greenland.

List of references:

Amorosi T., Buckland P., Dugmore A., Ingimundarson J.H. and McGovern T.H.(1997) ‘Raiding the landscape: Human Impact in the Scandinavian North Atlantic’ Human Ecology, 25, 3, 491-518.

Berglund J., (1986) 'The delince of Norse settlements in Greenland' Arctic Anthropology, 23, 1/2, 109-135.

Diamond, J. (2005) Collapse: How Societies choose to fail or survive, London: Penguin Group.

Dugmore A.J., Keller C., McGovern T.H. (2007) ‘Norse Greenland Settlement: Reflections on Climate Change, Trade, and the Contrasting Fates of Human Settlements in the North Atlantic Islands’ Arctic Anthropology, 44, 1, 12-36.

Edwards K.J., Schofield J.E., Kirby J.R., Cook G.T. (2011) 'Probelmatic but promising ponds? Palaeoenvironmental evidence from the Norse Eastern Settlement of Greenland' Journal of Quaternary Science, 26, 8, 854-865. 

Hamilton L., Lyster P., Otterstad O. (2000) 'Social change, ecology and climate in 20th-century Greenland' Climate Change, 47: 193-211.

Jacobsen N.K. (1987) 'Studies on soils and potential for soil erosion in the sheep farming area of South Greenland' Arctic and Alpine Research, 19, 4, 498-507.

Jakobsen B.H. (1991 'Soil resources and soil erosion in the Norse settlement area of osterbygden in southern Greenland' Acta Borealia, 8, 1, 56-68.