Exploring Norse-Inuit links: How walrus ivory shaped medieval Arctic trade routes

Shifting walrus exploitation patterns suggest a “domino” model: the Norse systematically depleted more accessible walrus stocks to supply the booming European ivory trade; the search for fresh sources of ivory was one factor driving Norse expansion into the Northwest Atlantic, including initial colonization of Iceland, and the establishment of Norse settlements in Southwest Greenland. (Emily J. Ruiz-Puerta and coauthors)

Medieval Norse settlers in Greenland travelled deep into the Arctic, including parts of what is now Canada, to hunt walruses and feed Europe’s booming ivory trade, suggests a recent study.

Using advanced DNA techniques, the paper’s authors traced the origins of walrus ivory artifacts found in European markets back to specific hunting grounds, including those in Greenland and the Canadian Arctic.

“Our results contribute fresh empirical insights to long-running debates about the likely location, timing, and motivations of early interaction between European Norse and Indigenous North American communities in the High Arctic,” the international research team said in the study.

“The results confirm that elite consumption patterns in Europe fueled an insatiable demand for walrus ivory, and that provisioning these markets emerged as a major driving force that substantially shaped the trajectory of Greenland Norse interactions with Arctic Indigenous peoples.”

Circumpolar “globalization” — medieval style

Walrus ivory was highly valued in medieval Europe, and was used to make luxury items.

It’s long been known that the Norse were key players in the European walrus ivory market of the time.

But the recent research published in the journal Science Advances, suggests that as demand grew, the Norse had to travel deeper into the Arctic to find more walruses, which put them in increasing contact with Inuit communities, who were already skilled and knowledgeable about about hunting the animals in challenging and remote regions.

An archive photo of an Inuit hunter in Canada standing next to the carcass of a freshly-killed walrus in March 1924. New researching is deepening our understanding of how Inuit in Canada and Greenland may have participated in the global ivory trade of the medieval period. (Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

These interactions may have played a significant role in the transfer of hunting techniques and knowledge, the paper said.

“Such voyages would have increased the likelihood of encounters, especially if other Arctic Indigenous groups were hunting similar resources in the same areas, perhaps encouraging a shift from direct Norse acquisition to some form of exchange relations,” the researchers said.

“If more formalized trading relations did somehow emerge, they would represent some of the earliest steps toward circumpolar “globalization,” a process that would eventually define later historical periods, including expansive culture contacts, intensive trade networks, and the market-driven exploitation of the Arctic’s natural resources by distant polities and urban consumption centers.”

Feeding a luxury demand

The study’s findings also highlight just how skilled the Norse were as sailors and boat craftsmen given that they were able to undertake such long-range trips in the world’s harshest maritime environment in the Arctic.

Walrus rely on sea ice. In medieval Europe, the wealth relied on walrus ivory for luxury items. (istock)

These journeys didn’t just  last weeks, but they would also have to return with walrus tusks to trade across Europe.

“The Greenland Norse had the greatest incentive to voyage deep into the High Arctic in search of ivory; they also had the seafaring capabilities, and emergent socio-political dynamics may have led elites in Greenland and Norway to sponsor such longer-range harvesting expeditions,” the paper said.

Charting the story of Arctic resource exploitation

The findings are just the beginning of cracking the patterns and consequences of Arctic resource development, the paper said.

“The methods used in this study highlight enormous potentials for a more comprehensive and truly circumpolar sourcing program to reconstruct the causes, conditions, and deeper ecological consequences of Arctic resource exploitation across different cultural and historical contexts,” they said. 

A walrus blubber market in Arctic Canada in 1924. Researchers say advanced DNA research is increasing our understanding of global trade in arctic resources going back to the medieval period. (Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Related stories from around the North:

Canada: What Arctic ice can tell us about plagues, climate and conflict in the Middle Ages, CBC News

GreenlandGreenland ice cores reveal historic climate clues, says study, Eye on the Arctic

Eilís Quinn, Eye on the Arctic

Eilís Quinn is an award-winning journalist and manages Radio Canada International’s Eye on the Arctic news cooperation project. Eilís has reported from the Arctic regions of all eight circumpolar countries and has produced numerous documentary and multimedia series about climate change and the issues facing Indigenous peoples in the North.

Her investigative report "Death in the Arctic: A community grieves, a father fights for change," about the murder of Robert Adams, a 19-year-old Inuk man from Arctic Quebec, received the silver medal for “Best Investigative Article or Series” at the 2019 Canadian Online Publishing Awards. The project also received an honourable mention for excellence in reporting on trauma at the 2019 Dart Awards in New York City.

Her report “The Arctic Railway: Building a future or destroying a culture?” on the impact a multi-billion euro infrastructure project would have on Indigenous communities in Arctic Europe was a finalist at the 2019 Canadian Association of Journalists award in the online investigative category.

Her multimedia project on the health challenges in the Canadian Arctic, "Bridging the Divide," was a finalist at the 2012 Webby Awards.

Her work on climate change in the Arctic has also been featured on the TV science program Découverte, as well as Le Téléjournal, the French-Language CBC’s flagship news cast.

Eilís has worked for media organizations in Canada and the United States and as a TV host for the Discovery/BBC Worldwide series "Best in China."

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