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Vikings in America
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Viewing Ideas
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Before Watching
Vikings have often been portrayed as fierce warriors and barbarians. What
impressions do students have about Viking culture and colonization? As they
watch the video, have students look for evidence to support or contradict
these images of Vikings. Ask the students to put themselves in the shoes of archeologists working to
verify the theory that Vikings settled in North America around 1000 A.D. What
kinds of evidence would they seek out? Where? What sources of information would
they pursue? In what kind of evidence would they have the most confidence? As
they watch the program, have students document the research stra-tegies of the
archeologists and the evidence they gathered.
After Watching
What evidence did archeologists discover that supported the
historical sagas about the Viking voyages? Discuss how archeologists in the
program interpreted evidence to support their theories. What evidence did they
consider valid? What evidence did they consider weak? Why is there still
disagreement about the true location of Vinland? What other theories could be
supported by the same evidence? During the era of the Vikings, most Europeans believed that the world was
flat and the ocean emptied into an abyss. What other assumptions in history
have limited exploration and since been disproved? The Vikings did not establish a permanent settlement in North America. One
of the principal reasons for their failures seems to have been their difficult
relations with Native Americans. As a class, brainstorm a list of differences
that may have contributed to the conflict between these two groups.
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