NORSE NEIGHBORS IN GREENLAND
The conclusions about Norse Greenlander's relations with their neighbors drawn from archaeology evidence is mixed. There is little archaeology evidence to indicate sustained fighting. There is more evidence of Norse artifacts in Eskimo sites.
The debate about the origin of the Inuit is typical. An accepted hypothesis is that the Inuit culture rose in Northern Canada and spread eastward. The primary evidence is the quality of the artifacts left behind. The more skillfully crafted artifacts were made in Canada. The cruder versions were made in Northern Greenland. Thus, the Inuit may have come from Canada and crowded the Norse.
But other authors have suggested that the Norse lived among the Eskimos. They made cruder tools because they had been used to iron tools and were adapting to bone and stone. The Norse descendents improved their handicraft as they spread west through the Arctic until their descendents in Canada produced more skillfully made artifacts. Thus the Inuit may have originated from Norse and Exkimo people on their way to Canada
