Greenlandic Norse Traded Timber with North America and Europe for Centuries

Norse elites in Greenland imported high-quality timber from northeastern North America and Northern Europe to meet most of their building needs, according to a new study by University of Iceland archaeologist Lísabet Guðmundsdóttir. The study used cellular-level study known as taxa analysis to distinguish between local wood, driftwood and imported timber. The imported wood came primarily from Northern Europe, with Norwegian sources being most prominent. But hemlock and Jack pine didn’t grow in Europe in the early second millennium and could only have been harvested in eastern North America.