Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Friday 10 august 2018
Walrus bones provide clues to fate of lost Viking colony

By CHRISTINA LARSON tithes paid in walrus tusks —
AP Science Writer suggested another possible
WASHINGTON (AP) — Clues factor: that the Vikings' de-
to the mystery of why Viking scendants thrived on a lu-
colonies in Greenland flour- crative trade in walrus tusks,
ished and fell have been which were sold to Europe's
found in the DNA of medi- elite and carved into luxury
eval walrus bones housed items, such as ivory cruci-
in more than a dozen Euro- fixes, knife handles, and
pean museums. fancy dice and chess sets.
For almost 500 years, the Archaeologists suspected
Norse descendants of Erik that famous ivory artifacts
the Red built churches and from the Middle Ages —
manor homes and expand- such as the Lewis Chess-
ed their settlements on the men , a set of expressive
icy fringes of European and intricately carved stat-
civilization. On Greenland, uettes from the 12th centu-
they had elaborate stone ry now housed in the British
churches with bronze bells Museum in London — were
and stained glass, a mon- made from walrus tusks
astery, and their own bish- from Greenland. But they
op. Their colonies at one could not get permission to
time supported more than bore into these precious ar-
2,000 people. This 2009 photo provided by Christian Koch Madsen shows the ruins of the Hvalsey Church, part tifacts for genetic analysis.
And then they vanished. of an abandoned Viking colony, in southern Greenland. James Barrett, another
Scholars have long won- Associated Press study author and an ar-
dered why. "Why did they skulls — reported in a study rus samples were directly changing climate of medi- chaeologist at the Univer-
flourish and why did they sity of Cambridge, was
disappear?" asked Thomas in Wednesday's Proceed- sourced from Greenland. eval Europe was the main "opening dusty boxes and
ings of the Royal Society B "It's possible that almost all reason Norse settlements
McGovern, an anthropolo- poring through museum
gist at Hunter College in that the fate of these me- the walrus ivory in western in Greenland expanded catalogues" in galleries in
dieval outposts may have Europe during the High and went extinct. This view
New York. "And did their Norway, France, Germany,
greatest success also con- been tied to the demand Middle Ages came from was popularized in Jared Ireland, and the UK when
for walrus ivory among rich Greenland," said Bastiaan Diamond's 2005 book "Col-
tain the seeds of their de- he realized that the tusks
mise?" Europeans. Star, a scientist at the Uni- lapse." were often sold attached
The study revealed that versity of Oslo and one of But evidence such as wal-
Researchers who visited to fragments of walrus
museums across western during the height of the the study's authors. "This re- rus bones at archaeologi- skulls — and that the bone
Norse settlement — from sult tells a very clear story."
cal sites in Greenland and
Europe to assemble a rare could provide the DNA he
pile of artifacts — frag- about 1120 to 1400 — at A dozen years ago, many historical documents — in- needed.q
least 80 percent of the wal-
historians believed that the cluding church records of
ments of medieval walrus
Study: 1 in 7 children of Zika-infected
moms have problems

By MIKE STOBBE defects. about 30 times what's seen
AP Medical Writer Earlier studies focused on in children generally.
NEW YORK (AP) — One those birth defects. The The percentage rose to 14
out of every seven babies new research is unique in when the researchers also
born to U.S. mothers who that it's a large study that counted later-developing
were infected with Zika looked for conditions that problems possibly caused
during pregnancy devel- became apparent only by Zika, including seizures,
oped some kind of health later, said Margaret Honein developmental delays
problem, according to the of the Centers for Disease and difficulty swallowing or

In this Friday, Dec. 16, 2016 file photo, Michelle Flandez stands first long-term look at those Control and Prevention, moving.Researchers also
in her home with her two-month-old son Inti Perez, who is children. one of the authors. found that not enough
diagnosed with microcephaly linked to the mosquito-borne Tuesday's study focused on The researchers looked kids were being checked
Zika virus, in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. the children of women in at 1,450 kids who were at for problems. For example,
Associated Press Puerto Rico and other ter- least 1 year old and whose only about a third received
ritories, where most of the mothers were infected with recommended eye exams
U.S. cases were seen when Zika while pregnant. Most by a specialist, half got a
the disease swept across were in Puerto Rico, but hearing evaluation, and
the Americas more than the count included Ameri- less than two-thirds got
two years ago. can Samoa, the Marshall Is- brain scans.
Most people infected with lands, the U.S. Virgin Islands Medical services have
Zika don't get sick. In oth- and Micronesia. been disrupted at times in
ers, it can cause a mild ill- Of those children, 6 per- hurricane-battered Puerto
ness, with fever, rash and cent had birth defects, Rico. Still, it means kids who
joint pain. But infection dur- such as abnormally small need therapy or treatment
ing pregnancy can lead to heads, damaged brains may not be getting it, Hon-
severe brain-related birth or eye irregularities. That's ein said.q