A recent discovery has led some researchers to speculate
that Vikings may have used cannabis while exploring
North America.
An archaeological team found cannabis pollen not native
to the area during an excavation of a peat bog near the
L’Anse aux Meadows site in Newfoundland, Canada.
The team also found non-native species of beetle from
Greenland and the Arctic among the ‘ecofacts.’
Vikings may have picked these up while travelling south.
However, it is also possible that other people native to the
area may have taken the materials to the peat bog at a
later time.
While scientists were unable to determine whether the
cannabis was used for clothing, recreationally or as a
medicine, the findings raise questions about the spread of
cannabis across the globe.
Paul Ledger, the lead author of the paper and
a postdoctoral fellow at Memorial University of
Newfoundland who led the study urged caution, noting
that the pollen could have been carried in the wind.
“The results presented here [in the journal article] pose
more questions than answers.”
The settlement, founded by Vikings around 1,000 AD, was
thought to have only been occupied for a short time. But
the radiocarbon dated remains suggests that the Nordic
travellers may been in the area as recently as the 13th
century.
Birgitta Wallace, a senior archaeologist emerita with Parks
Canada told Live Science that she was not convinced
that the cannabis or other findings could be attributed to
Vikings.
“I think it is highly unlikely that the Norse [Vikings] would
have returned in the 12th and 13th centuries, as there are
no structures on the site from that period that could be
Norse.”
Patricia Sutherland of the Canadian Museum of Nature
who has also done extensive research on the Vikings in
North America, said:
“It seems premature to suggest such a scenario on the
basis of the ‘ecofacts’ listed in the paper.
“It’s possible that some of the beetles and plant pollen
found in the layer were brought to L’Anse aux Meadows
by the Vikings around A.D. 1000, and they continued to
flourish after the Vikings left.”
In 2012, researchers found strong evidence that farmers
had cultivated cannabis in farmland in the Vest-Agder
area of Norway, likely for the production of textiles or rope
which may have been traded throughout the region.
The discovered remains dated from 650 AD to 800 AD.
While there is to date no hard of evidence of Vikings
consuming cannabis for recreational or medicinal
purposes, mythical Viking Berserkers were said to fight in a
trance-like fury which some scholars have attributed to the
use of hallucinogenic mushrooms.
“THE RESULTS PRESENTED HERE POSE
MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS”