An Older Date for Viking Arrival in the Americas
Using some novel archaeological techniques, a team dated a Viking settlement in Newfoundland and found that the Scandinavian culture arrived in North America 1,000 years ago, preceding Christopher Columbus’ accidental arrival by nearly 500 years. The dating method was almost as cool as the finding: the team analyzed wood chips determined to have been chopped by Vikings. They dated the wood chips with precision thanks to a solar storm that occurred in 993 CE, leaving a unique signature in the tree rings.
