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Article: In Greenland, potatoes thrive as seal hunting wanes.(WORLD)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- October 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Colin Woodard Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
Qassiarsuk, Greenland -- In this village of 56 people in southern Greenland, history has come full circle. It was here, in about 985, that Erik the Red, leader of a medieval Norse colony, built his farm and raised sheep, cattle, and barley.
But about 300 years later, the climate changed. The Norse's agrarian lifestyle began to unravel when the Little Ice Age arrived, dooming the colony.
Today the hillside overlooking Erik's Fjord is lush and green again. A crop of young potatoes and radishes await harvesting. The plot is surrounded by tall grass - food for thousands of sheep - ...