Did Vikings reach America before Columbus?

Vikings had a settlement in North America exactly one thousand years ago, centuries before Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas, a study says. Scientists say a new dating technique analysing tree rings has provided evidence that Vikings occupied a site in Newfoundland, Canada, in 1021AD.

Did the Vikings get to America first?

Leif Eriksson Day commemorates the Norse explorer believed to have led the first European expedition to North America. Half a millennium before Columbus “discovered” America, those Viking feet may have been the first European ones to ever have touched North American soil.

Who lived in America before it was discovered?

Five hundred years before Columbus, a daring band of Vikings led by Leif Eriksson set foot in North America and established a settlement. And long before that, some scholars say, the Americas seem to have been visited by seafaring travelers from China, and possibly by visitors from Africa and even Ice Age Europe.

Were there Vikings in North America before Columbus?

The Vikings reached North America centuries before Christopher Columbus The evidence of Vikings in America The only physical evidence that has been found of a settlement is in L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. This mysterious settlement has answered some questions about the Vikings, but it has raised many more:

Who was the first Viking to visit America?

Oct 8, 2013. The Viking Explorer Who Beat Columbus to America. Leif Eriksson Day commemorates the Norse explorer believed to have led the first European expedition to North America. Nearly 500 years before the birth of Christopher Columbus, a band of European sailors left their homeland behind in search of a new world.

Were Viking feet the first European feet in North America?

Half a millennium before Columbus “discovered” America, those Viking feet may have been the first European ones to ever have touched North American soil. Exploration was a family business for the expedition’s leader, Leif Eriksson (variations of his last name include Erickson, Ericson, Erikson, Ericsson and Eiriksson).

Why did the Vikings stay in Greenland?

In spite of North America’s more bountiful resources, the Viking settlers remained in desolate Greenland. This was perhaps due to the violent encounters—including the slaying of Eriksson’s brother Thorwald–they had with the indigenous population of North America.