Why the Vikings left Greenland
Rewriting the history books: Why the Vikings left Greenland One of the great mysteries of late medieval history itheorthe Norse, who established successful settlements in southern Greenland in 985, abandoned them in the early 15th century. The consensus view has long been that the colder temperatures of the Little Ice Age helped make the colonies unsustainable. However, new research, led by scientists at the University of Massachusetts . It wasn't dropping temperatures that helped drive the Norse from Greenland, but drought. The research was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation . "The team found no substantial temperature changes, but found a persistent drying period," says Colene Haffke, a program director in NSF's Office of Polar Programs. When the Norse thrived in Greenland in what they called the Eastern Settlement in 985, they made their way by clearing the land of shrubs and planting grass as pasture for their livestock. The populatio