Archeology: Viking expansion associated with trading

 
Accurate dating of man-made artifacts from early medieval commercial facilities in Denmark revealed that remote trade had expanded to the Arctic Norway and the Middle East in the early Viking era.A paper reporting this finding will be published in Nature this week.Accurate dating of the arrival of glass beads in the Middle East and the production of Verdal-style brooches in Viking Scandinavia was dated 785-810 AD.These findings suggest that the beginning of the Viking era may have been associated with competition for trade routes.

There is widespread debate about the timing and dynamics of remote interactions in the Viking era.It is argued that the emergence of a global trade cycle against the backdrop of the expansion of the Islamic empire in the Middle East has become an economic catalyst for trade during the Viking era and the prosperity of Western Europe under the Charlemagne dynasty.On the other hand, some have questioned the dating and impact of this trade, claiming that much of the development of the Viking Scandinavian and Carolingian empires remained within the region.

Now, Bente Philippsen and colleagues used a new single-year resolution radiocarbon dating curve to accurately date the artifacts of a Viking-era commercial facility in Ribe, Denmark.This dating model provided chronological reference points for the period 760-800 AD. Philippsen et al. Revealed that Ribe may have had an exclusive deal with the western part of the European continent earlier in this period, presenting two types of man-made relics as evidence.One was glass beads made of recycled glass material from damaged cups and Roman mosaic tiles, and the other was pottery from the Rhein region.The age of the grindstone made from Norwegian rock can be traced back to about 2 AD, which indicates that maritime trade was increasing within Scandinavia before the North Sea Viking raid escalated in 1 AD. Suggests.Wasp-type glass beads manufactured between 1 and 740 AD imply traffic to the Baltic coast.The arrival of glass beads in the Middle East and the production of Beldal-style brooches were dated 790-750 AD.

Philippsen et al. Conclude that this dating model may allow us to explore the relevance of rapid changes in the past (economic trends, climatic trends, etc.).

doi: 10.1038 / s41586-021-04240-5
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Reprinted from: "Archeology: Viking power expansion was associated with trade'
 

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