The largest farms could contain substantial buildings and complex arrangements of rooms, storage spaces, animal facilities, and working areas.

At places such as Brattahlíð, associated by tradition with Erik the Red, archaeology reveals a landscape that was both agricultural and socially important.

The church at Hvalsey is especially striking because parts of its stone walls remain standing.

It is a physical reminder that the Greenlanders were not living in temporary camps.

They had invested in permanent institutions.

Christianity also tied Greenland to a wider European world.

Churches required organization, clergy, and connections to the wider church.