#walrus ivory

[460media]

Vintage style, an ongoing series (Walrus ivory snow goggles, Thule culture, c. 800-1200)

[blueiscoool]

Winged Object, Old Bering Sea II, 400 - 800 AD

Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) ivory.

Width: 7 ¼ in (18.4 cm).

[ancientstuff]

Old Norse settlers traded walrus ivory with Kyiv

Archaeologists had low expectations when excavations started at 35 Spaska Street in Kyiv in 2007.

This is awesome. The small ivory figure gamepieces remind me very strongly of the Lewis chessmen.

[treasures-and-beauty]

Fossil Ivory Owl Pendant, made from fossilized walrus ivory and silver. Design by Jenny Byrne.

[medievalart]

The Nativity of Christ

* Cologne, c.1150-1160

* walrus ivory

* Schnütgen museum

Cologne, November 2017

[marylibra]

The Wingfield-Digby Crozier (Crozier head)

Walrus ivory and bone additions

Late 14th century

Norway

[deadbeatscumbag]

[mostly-history]

Then, in the 13th century, after three centuries, their world changed profoundly.  First, the climate cooled because of the volcanic eruption in Indonesia.  Sea ice increased, and so did ocean storms—ice cores from that period contain more salt from oceanic winds that blew over the ice sheet.  Second, the market for walrus ivory collapsed, partly because Portugal and other countries started to open trade routes into sub-Saharan Africa, which brought elephant ivory to the European market.  'The fashion for ivory began to wane,' says Dugmore, 'and there was also the competition with elephant ivory, which was much better quality.'  And finally, the Black Death devastated Europe.  There is no evidence that the plague ever reached Greenland, but half the population of Norway—which was Greenland’s lifeline to the civilized world—perished. The Norse probably could have survived any one of those calamities separately.  After all, they remained in Greenland for at least a century after the climate changed, so the onset of colder conditions alone wasn't enough to undo them.  Moreover, they were still building new churches—like the one at Hvalsey—in the 14th century.  But all three blows must have left them reeling.  With nothing to exchange for European goods—and with fewer Europeans left—their way of life would have been impossible to maintain.  The Greenland Vikings were essentially victims of globalization and a pandemic. 'If you consider the world today, many communities will face exposure to climate change,' says Dugmore.  'They’ll also face issues of globalization. The really difficult bit is when you have exposure to both.'

Why Did Greenland’s Vikings Vanish?