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Data from: Greenland Norse walrus exploitation deep into the Arctic

Ruiz Puerta, Emily Johana1; Jarrett, Greer2; McCarthy, Morgan L.1; En Pan, Shyong3; Keighley, Xénia4; Aiken, Magie5; Zampirolo, Giulia1; Loonen, Maarten J. J. E6; Gotfredsen, Anne Birgitte1; Howse, Lesley R.7; Szpak, Paul8; Pálsson, Snæbjörn9; Rufolo, Scott3; Malmquist, Hilmar J.10; Desjardins, Sean P. A.6; Tange Olsen, Morten1; Jordan, Peter2

Published Oct 15, 2024 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.15dv41p5c

Data files

Oct 15, 2024 version files 2.20 MB

Abstract

Walrus ivory was a prized commodity in medieval Europe and was supplied by Norse hunters who expanded across the North Atlantic, establishing settlements in Iceland and Greenland. However, the precise sources of the ivory remain unclear, as well as the extent to which Norse hunted walrus or traded ivory with Arctic Indigenous peoples. We use high-resolution genomic sourcing methods to track walrus artefacts back to specific hunting grounds, demonstrating for the first time that Norse obtained ivory from the High Arctic region of the North Water Polynya, and possibly from the interior Canadian Arctic. This substantially expands the previously assumed geographic range of Norse exploitation activities, confirming likely encounters with Tuniit (Late Dorset Pre-Inuit) and Thule Inuit, as well as possible emergence of ivory exchange.