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Comment by efa | Hacker News Reader

I thought this has been known for awhile. I visited the site in Newfoundland like 15 years ago. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L'Anse_aux_Meadows

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I was taught that Leif Erikson led an expedition to Newfoundland over 20 years ago in public school.

"Transatlantic exploration took place centuries before the crossing of Columbus. Physical evidence for early European presence in the Americas can be found in Newfoundland, Canada1,2. However, it has thus far not been possible to determine when this activity took place3,4,5. Here we provide evidence that the Vikings were present in Newfoundland in AD 1021. We overcome the imprecision of previous age estimates by making use of the cosmic-ray-induced upsurge in atmospheric radiocarbon concentrations in AD 993 (ref. 6). "

Seems that before hand the evidence was circumstantial and while everyone was confident it was the case, they can now prove it with better dating techniques.

> Leif Erikson led an expedition to Newfoundland over 20 years ago

I guess that's technically not wrong.

I'm just impressed that Leif Erikson was leading expeditions while still in public school.

I too love dangling modifiers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dangling_modifier

> guess that's technically not wrong

Hey, don't command me to guess things.

> Downvotes

I was merely quoting mid-sentence as OP did

The news is the accurate dating, not the existence of the site (which is so well known that it is a UNESCO World Heritage site).

That depends entirely on the species of tree. Absolutely crucial in this case. Do they mention this data in the article?

Yes, at least two species of tree. You can read which ones in the paper!

The species is actually not absolutely crucial in this case. The trees were dated by looking for solar flare activity in the rings; the trees are known to have been cut by Vikings because they were cut with steel tools.

From the paper:

> The received paradigm is that the Norse settlement dates to the close of the first millennium9; however, the precise age of the site has never been scientifically established.

The paper is about more precise dating, afaict, not a revelation that they arrived around then.

The research is about pinning the date down.

From tfa: "However, it has thus far not been possible to determine when this activity took place"

Anyone else learn about the Viking landings on North America from Age of Empires 2 (1999)?

> I thought this has been known for awhile

What, in particular, are you referring to?

Leif Erikson? Popularized by Spongebob, no less.

This is about nailing the exact date that this settlement was built. Leif Erikson was almost certainly earlier anyways.

According to Wikipedia, he died in 1020.

So technically, you're correct. Which is the best kind of correct.

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