Walrus ivory is one of the most fascinating pieces of the Greenland puzzle because it connects a remote Arctic landscape to medieval Europe.

The tusk of a walrus could become a luxury material thousands of kilometers from where the animal lived.

European craftspeople carved ivory into objects that carried religious, artistic, and social meaning.

For Greenland’s Norse, this created an unusual economic opportunity.

They could obtain something that European consumers wanted but that was difficult to acquire elsewhere.

The Arctic was therefore not merely a barrier.

It was a source of wealth.