Re: American Indians skin tone and the Vikings

Grant Hughes (grant.hughes@bio.uio.no)
30 Sep 1995 12:11:25 GMT

In article <44bn7f$et6@ixnews4.ix.netcom.com>, sjoland@ix.netcom.com (Peter/Stephen Sjolander ) says:
>
><snip>
>>I remember reading of early (supposed initial contacts) with groups
>>such as the Mandan who had members with "European" features, i.e.
>>light eyes, fair hair and paler skin. There have also been attempts
>>to correlate certain Indiginous words to Old Norse. I remember the
>>specific title of "The Norse-Mandan Dictionary" (rather provocative).
>>
>++++++++++++
>I have never heard of this Dictionary. Do you have any more
>information about it?

Sorry, I only remember noting it in some bibliography. But that was
long ago and I don't remember where it was.

>>Some have claimed the well-known Mandan rites of passage to have
>stemmed from
>>emulation of the Crucifiction. If this is the case, it certainly did
>>not come from the colonies (not disputed) of the Vikings who were then
>>still pagans.
>++++++++++++++++++++++
>The peak of the Viking activity in Vinland was around the year 1000.
>This was also about the time that Christanity was introduced to the
>Norse.

When you say "the peak of activity" you are implying and increase and
decline of activity. The archeological evidence is sparce at best and
the litero-historical evidence describes a virtual one-time event
(Vinlandssaga).

>>
>>Any cultural or genetic contribution by pre-Columbian Europeans,
>however,
>>can be assumed to be minimal.
>>
>>Does anyone have some concrete sources?
>>
>>GCH
>+++++++++++++
>Ever heard of the Kensington Rune stone?

Peter, haven't we had this conversation before? The Kensington Stone
is widely (almost exclusively) considered a hoax. Besides, the Kensington
Stone isn't a concrete source....I believe it is a chunck of Precambrian
Shield stone. :)

GCH