The tree-ring census showed that wooden objects previously found at archaeological sites on the northern peninsula of Newfoundland were made from trees cut down in 1021. This is the earliest definitive date of European presence in the Americas and is the only date prior to the voyages of Christopher Columbus in 1492. The study was published in the journal Nature by geologists Margot Kuitems and Michael Dee, along with their colleagues.

what is known

Researchers believe Vikings built and lived in this area called L’Anse aux Meadows about 1,000 years ago. However, previous attempts to more precisely date the settlement, which includes three dwellings and other structures made of wood and grass, have been fruitless.

• New work focused on four wooden objectsit was first found at L’Anse aux Meadows, which was excavated in the 1960s.
• It is not known how these objects were used, but each was carved with metal tools.
• on three findings identified an annual tree growth ring that exhibits a characteristic increase in radiocarbon levels.
• A study by other scientists studying cosmic ray bursts caused by solar activity dates this particular increase in the level of radioactive carbon in the planet’s atmosphere to 993.
• Counting the growth rings on the edge of each wooden object, starting from 993, gave the same age – 1021 years.

Despite its accuracy, this date leaves the question of when the Vikings first set foot in the Americas.