New Haven, Vinland -- A mid-15th century map showing Norse settlement in the United States prior to Columbus has been authenticated by a new study on its ink, CNN today reported. Whites from Europe established colonies in North America starting in the 9th and 10th centuries, and those colonies, in addition to colonies in Greenland, survived into the mid-15th century, when they were destroyed by a combination of changing climate, changing navigability of the seas, and attacks by skraelings -- the Norse word for the eskimo and other "native" people of the North America.
The study, which shows that the ink on the map is consistent with the types of inks used in the Middle Ages, also dated the ink and paper to the 1440s -- approximately 50 years befopre Columbus set sail.
The story of the colonization of North America is found in the Eddas -- ancient Norse stories containing the mystical history of the people of Norway, Denmark, Sweden and their colonies Iceland and Vinland.
The confirmation comes upon other confirmations of white presence in North America prior to 1492, particularly the discovery of rune stones and other nordic artifacts in areas such as Minnesota.
Other evidence of white settlement of the Americas as early as 3000 BC has been sytematically destroyed by the US government under pressure from "Native" Americans, who view the claim of white settlement in North America prior to 1492 as a direct threat to their claim of privileged status.
