Viking At Coppergate

The new and innovative structure in the exterior and interior of houses made it more comfortable, more enjoyable, and safer for citizens to live . On the exterior of the houses the Toltec’s assembled roofs, solid bases, adobe walls, storm drains, and stucco floors . The sturdy roofs kept out precipitation making it more comfortable for the inhabitants. The base of the house kept the ground level so that the house rested on flat ground thus preventing it from slumping in, and the house was safer for people to live in. The adobe walls and stucco floors kept the house temperature from getting to hot or too cold . Finally, the storm drains prevented flooding in the house . The exterior of the house made for a better life style, but the interior of the house was just as innovative as the exterior. In the interior of the house one of the greatest interior achievements of the time was the spiral staircase . Although this was only common in large dwellings belonging to the upper class, the idea of circular stairs had the potential to save a lot of space in a house. What people consider simple today, the Toltec’s were building over 1000 years ago, and it was the little achievements that made life easier for the people living in the

The longhouse, much like the village, offered the inhabitants a sense of unity. The longhouse was built for multiple families not just for one. These houses are monstrous. Almost all of the houses are 20 feet high and 20 feet wide, the only differences are the length which varied. The houses were then divided up into sections which allowed for multiple families to live there. Normally, each family had a 20 by 20 by 20 areas to use as their own. However, normally the center of the house was a common area which was used for fire and for everything else in the house.

In the opening pages of A Voyage Long and Strange: On the Trail of Vikings, Lost Colonists, and Other Adventurers in Early America, the author, Tony Horwitz, conveys:

The reason for the Vikings leaving their homelands and venturing off on trade missions, raids, explorations, and new settlements is largely unknown, due to a lack of evidence (Vikings weren’t huge fans of writing down their day to day lives and history.) However, it can be speculated that they left for a few reasons. The first of those reasons was to escape forced conversion to Christianity by Charlemagne. The Vikings had their own unique religion which differed heavily from Christianity. Add to this the fact that Christians don’t have the best history with accepting other beliefs, it is understandable that the Vikings may have feared Christian conversion and sought to find new lands to escape. This fear of conversion was a large part of the Saxon wars affecting Germanic peoples. It’s worth noting the irony of the Vikings leaving their homeland in fear of Christian conversion considering their leader Harald Bluetooth (935-985), who was the King of Norway and Denmark, eventually converted the Vikings himself to Christianity. The second reason for the Vikings suddenly migrating may be due to their beliefs in relation to inheritance. Vikings gave their first sons all acquired land, this caused younger sons to venture off on their own to gain their own property. Regardless of the reason, the Vikings ventured off in their long ships to raid, pillage,

After 830, though, the Vikings took advantage of conflicts in Europe to extend their activity further inland. In some cases, rulers were willing to pay off the Norsemen in exchange for being left alone. Viking leaders soon realized they could make deals with kingdoms seeking to be left alone or even desperate for protection.

Moving on to the third factor, the author explains that the Norse were definitely faced with hostile neighbors in Greenland. He states that “Inuit attacks and threats may have played a direct role in the Vikings’ extinction” (Diamond, 255). The Norse had a bad attitude towards the Inuit, and probably attacked and killed the first ones they say. The Inuit had

Each family had its own lot and some having up to four houses in addition some having two-story structure. Every house had its own purpose to a family for example; one house would hold food storage for winter other houses would be used for entertainment.

It was made with wooden frames and covered with bark. There were no windows but small holes in the roof so smoke from cooking fires could escape out of the longhouse. Many families could live in a single longhouse. They used animal skin to have privacy when they did their thing. Men hunted animals such as deer, rabbit,turkeys,etc.

And lastly Viking technology aloud them to sail across harsh seas and reach the Americas before Christopher Columbus.

In the ninth century, Vikings began to raid Ireland, eventually conquering and settling on the island. The strong Irish culture influenced the Viking conquerors’ way of life, rather than an invader’s long-term domination would suggest.

In early years of the colony, there life was quite difficult. Lots of the colonists lived in simple structures such as dugouts, wigwams, and dirt-floor huts Later in time construction of nomes and small shacks improved, and began to be sheathed in clapboard, with thatch roofs and wooden chimneys. More rich people would extend their house by adding a leanto on the back witch

     The Viking houses were built on or near a water source for obvious reasons and also had access to their ships much faster being so close to the water. When there was no water source nearby they would dig wells and reinforce them with stones or wood that was sealed with a pitch. There were no sewers in Viking towns, but instead each house had a garbage heap. The larger towns produced their own goods such as pottery, products made out of iron, ships, glassworks, and leather products.

The Greenland Norse are an excellent example of a society that has collapsed because of the choices they have made, but they also serve as an example of a society who suffered great challenges when considering these alternative solutions. In particular, the Greenland Norse’s lack of adaptability in the decision’s they favored regarding hunting, livestock, the relationship with the Inuit, and the need for European identity drove their society to a collapse.

The first way they influenced Europe was through the raids that had went on against Europe. This started to establish more of a European culture because of the reaction they had against the Vikings. As the Vikings settled in Europe they were slowly Christianized. As they were Christianized they assimilated into the European culture.

burn and pillage their way across civilized Europe. During this period much progress was achieved in terms of Scandinavian art and craftsmanship, marine technology, exploration, and the development of commerce. It seems the Vikings did as much trading as they did