Norse in the subtropics - new evidence

I'm Danish and I live in Russia. A few years back, part of a wooden Viking sun compass was found close the Ural Mountains. That found pushed the Vikings presence a good 1200 km East.

I swear were gonna get to mars at this point and find remnants of a viking long ship.

Being a Viking enthusiast of Azorean descent, this video is like a gift to me.

I think that there is a much better candidate for the early settlement of the azores. Irish Monks. In the Icelandic sagas it is noted that the Norse were not the first to settle the island and that there were Irish hermit monks that were already living there, admittedly in small numbers. These were called the Papar and they were also found in the Faeroe islands and various Scottish islands, as well. The issue for a long time was finding archeological evidence to support the claims of the sagas and other medieval historians and to be honest evidence is slim. There are some crosses carved on the wall of Kverkarhellir cave in Iceland and some evidence of pre-norse cereal production and peat burning, but not much because these were likely non materialic eremitic styled holy men who had take some sort of vow of seclusion. So we have a group of hermits settling islands in the atlantic ocean who leave behind very little material culture and predate norse exploration. The Mouse DNA is also found in Ireland so that is another strong link. Then we have a possible connection to the 'Voyage of St Brendan' in which the Abbott was said to have discovered some 'bless island' somewhere in the mid atlantic, west of the African coast. It is a bit of a stretch as the entire story of the voyage is full of fantasy elements but it perhaps was inspired by a real voyage or maybe it inspired future voyages. Best thing about the Irish monk hypothosis is that it also explains where they disappeared to. Communities of men who have taken vows of chastity are never going to repopulate themselves and will naturally come to an end.

New exciting vids on the way, just couldn't resist sharing this juicy nugget!

Azores definitely need more archeological attention! So interesting and mysterious.

The reason the type f mice are likely earlier than the Portuguese colonization is because once a mouse population establishes itself it is very difficult for new populations of mice to displace them. The new mice are either rejected or are quickly absorbed into the gene pool. Because of this most mouse populations around the world are descended from the original mice to land there and not later introductions.

Actually, we are a consortium of archaeologists, historians and natural science researchers writing a rebuttal article on this PNAS paper. The gist of our arguments: 1) the organic compounds and spores are NOT exclusive to cattle and humans. Bird poo also have them; 2) rye can appear in the islands as any other plant, carried either by wind or birds. Rye pollen DOES NOT mean humans; 3) fire in volcanic islands appears naturally, look at the Canaries volcano; charcoal DOES NOT means human; 4) there are NO artifacts or buildings predating the 15th century in the Azores; 5) the islands were known in the 14th but were only settled in the 15th century because only THEN did they become strategic to Iberian navigation from Africa.

I can’t believe Chris Pratt got cast as Mario instead of Stefan…

Digging all the cool production value stuff you been adding! Animations, transitions, etc are all very engaging. I also like the sit-and-talk stuff, but both have their own strengths.

Faskinating. I love the way you inject enthusiasm into curiosity. It communicates the passion for research. Looking forward to hearing more discoveries from there.

Fascinating, always enjoy Stephan’s talks! Also love the plastic spoon, a kind of iconic item from earlier broadcasts!

So cool and bizarre to have a stefan milo video on my home islands! Haven't seen it all yet, but just a little piece of Folklore from Corvo and Flores (folklore as i can't say i have seen this referenced/written down anywhere), but, suposedly, the first portuguese that landed in Corvo, found a wooden statue/human figure pointing West. As a kid, i always thought of this legend as some kind of hint as to who might have crossed the islands before the tugas, maybe the phoenicians or someone else ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Anyways, still can't believe you made a video on the islands, and even though i'm still somewhat sceptical about the recent findings, i'm sure i'll love this video as i do all your other ones, thank you!

The azores are the most beautiful place i have visited. The unique climate and geology allow for the most perfect scenery imaginary. The fauna under water is also absolutely stunning, it feels like you can see almost everything the atlantic has to offer in just one place. Hearing about the amazing history now has made the place even more special to me. I can`t recommend enough to travel to the azores, and the neat part is, that they are almost exactly between the states and europe. Thank you for the great video as always, keep up the good work, you are one of my favorite creators.

Now I've got the GIlligan's Island theme playing in my head as I imagine a boat full of vikings intending on a simple three-hour tour but ending up stranded instead. Hopefully they had a professor in the group, but I'm guessing there were no girls hence their absence.

Thank you, Stefan Milo, for making and sharing this excellent video.

For some reason I just love those weird sources archeologists use. You look at some pollen, poo, and mice genes, and discover something about the history of humanity. Isn't that cool. P.S. Tropical Vikings 😱

Those mice are azorable! I'll see myself out.

There is stories of St Brenden "Brenden the Navigator, Who sail from Ireland in 504 and returned 7 years latter, these stories tell of visiting un- inhabited Inlands, The boat was big enough for 18 monks and supplies.

Stefan, it was about time for a new video! Full marks.