Ib History notes y1
Vocab/Key
6 history concepts
Cause and consequence
change and continuity
significance
perspective
Guided notes VSEPM
V: Environment
S: society
E: economy
P: politics
M: Military
Unit 1
*Questions for first 2 readings in flashcards
*Questions for first 2 readings in flashcards
**How Vikings Discovered Greenland- Video
**
Greenland is only 20 miles from North America vs 200 from Iceland
Initially there were no Native Americans on Greenland’s land
Gunnbjörn Ulfsson got thrown offcourse and found greenland from norway— however this was proven false because his vision was distorted Hillingar (Arctic Mirages)
Snæbjörn Galti: first person to step foot into greenland, attemted to create first settlement
Was killed after getting into argument, this settlement failed
Eric the red got into another mans land, and kills many people, gets sentenced 3 years exile
Erics father in norway was kicked out 20 yrs ago because he also killed someone
Eric went to greenland and explored, and then returned to iceland and tell the citizens abt greenland
**9/23 Video: BBC timetable- Viking Cutting Edge technology, Winroth 72-80.6
**
Norse ship building techniques and materials
oakwood to build entire ship
split in half, smoothed, shaped, fitted to keel
oak is strong and flexible rot resistent follows natrual fibers
rounded hell & shallow keel allows them to beach and come close to shore
clinker design of overlapping planks allow for less water proofing, makes ship lighter & faster\
symmetrical allowing them to directly sail out or in either direction
use of square sails- much faster than rowing
Inspired by the romans
sail made from linen pr wool with animal fats and ochre rubbed in the fabric to seal it
square saild worked well with wind in the right direction, but otherwise could push them the wrong way, the slower the more effective, zig zagging
oars to help maneuver
some ships used maple, birch, and pine
Types of Norse ships
Oseberg Norway Longship
bulkier ship for transporting goods- knarr
Norse navigational skills
focused on coast hugging and river nav first, explored over in open seas
Issues encounteres
tough to split the oakwood in half
shipwrecks
**9/25
What is a perspective?**
opinion or view on matter
way we view things based on experiences and knowledge, emotions playing a role
perspectives one might have: NYC, liberal bubble, american, multi-cultural, family-religion-origin, gender race age characteristics, expertise, wealth/social class
Can perspectives be wrong?
dependent on perspective- how far off are they
depends on how we state it, isw it posited as a universal fact or opinon/belief
how can we ensure accuracy of perspective?
manufacturers design
sorting through variety of views
no 100% certainty of perspectivrd providing full truth
**TedTalk video “Facts, Opinions, & Lies”
**
Which hall mark of understanding perspectives is the most important? why?
reliability- perspective must have truthful foundation based on evidence
able to understand background/context
rationalization- is there academic debate or lies parading as discourse
truth is not relative, undisputable, no wiggleroom
extra awareness of social media
for one group to be right others have to be wrong
How can we distinguish between truth(facts) opinions and lies?
deniers denying the experiences the experiencers went through
deniers take lies and dress them as opinions
take facts and would distort them
9/30
climate change:
making earth warmer, sea levels rise
extreme weather, changing weather, more natural disaster
greenhouse gasses in atmosphere causing warming
impact on habitat, especially in colder regions
***Estevez 51-54
figures 1.29, 1.31, 1.32, 1.34, and 1.35 are sources that historians studying norse exploration can use. Study the five figures and associated information. Do they convince you that there was a Medival Warm Period? Why/why not?
There is a common pattern of higher levels of temperature and indirect factors of temperature that show in all of the graphs that the medieval warm periods levels are rather slightly or significantly higher. I am convinced that there was a Medieval warm period since there is an upward trend between all of the graphs with a clear downward trend after the medieval warm period. Also there is a variety of types of scientific palaeoclimatology data supporting existence of warming period. One scientist doing meta synthesis of data purposefully omitted the tree ring data to focus on all other data bc tree ring tends to dominate. Focusing on other data he was also to find those results, which still supported warming pattern. Respected and expert researchers who are also from range of scientific backgrounds all corroborate. Data from variety of years also corroborate including more modern studies still supporting older ones.
what other sources of information, in addition to palaeoclimatological data, might help you find out about the Medival Warm Period?
Some other sources of information to help find out about the Medieval warm period could be statistics of sales from that time period. For example, what types of crops that were more popular or had a greater level of production. If we know the quality of crops back then we can see what types of environments they were grown in and we can gauge what the temperature was at the time.
HW questions in same packet 61-64
what information do sources B and C give you about the geographical extent of Arctic sea ice between c982 and 1020?
During this time period source B has a graph with the pattern that the arctic ice extent was relatively the same throughout these years. The amount of arctic sea ice was around 10km. However, in source C, it shows how the amount of sea ice decreased in area from march to september 1979.
Some historians argue that new sea routes, which opened up because there was less Arctic sea ice during the Medieval Warm Period, facilitated Norse exploration and the settlement of Greenland and Vinland. To what extent do you agree with this perspective?
I agree with this perspective to a large extent, as reduced Arctic sea ice during the Medieval Warm Period significantly facilitated navigation by opening clearer sea routes, reducing hazards like icebergs and drift ice, and extending the sailing season across the North Atlantic. This climatic window made long-distance voyages between Iceland, Greenland, and Vinland safer and more predictable. However, while climate was an essential enabling factor, it was not the sole cause. Advanced Norse maritime technology—such as sturdy, clinker-built ships like the knarr—and socio-political push factors, including land shortages, exile, and economic incentives (such as trade in walrus ivory and timber), were equally crucial in driving Norse exploration and settlement.
Was the Medieval Warm Period a significant contributor to Norse exploration? Contrast factor with other possible causes with opinion
Unit 1
*Questions for first 2 readings in flashcards
How Vikings Discovered Greenland- Video
Greenland is only 20 miles from North America vs 200 from Iceland
Initially there were no Native Americans on Greenland’s land
Gunnbjörn Ulfsson got thrown offcourse and found greenland from norway— however this was proven false because his vision was distorted Hillingar (Arctic Mirages)
Snæbjörn Galti: first person to step foot into greenland, attemted to create first settlement
Was killed after getting into argument, this settlement failed
Eric the red got into another mans land, and kills many people, gets sentenced 3 years exile
Erics father in norway was kicked out 20 yrs ago because he also killed someone
Eric went to greenland and explored, and then returned to iceland and tell the citizens abt greenland
9/23 Video: BBC timetable- Viking Cutting Edge technology, Winroth 72-80.6
Norse ship building techniques and materials
oakwood to build entire ship
split in half, smoothed, shaped, fitted to keel
oak is strong and flexible rot resistent follows natrual fibers
rounded hell & shallow keel allows them to beach and come close to shore
clinker design of overlapping planks allow for less water proofing, makes ship lighter & faster
symmetrical allowing them to directly sail out or in either direction
use of square sails- much faster than rowing
Inspired by the romans
sail made from linen pr wool with animal fats and ochre rubbed in the fabric to seal it
square saild worked well with wind in the right direction, but otherwise could push them the wrong way, the slower the more effective, zig zagging
oars to help maneuver
some ships used maple, birch, and pine
Types of Norse ships
Oseberg Norway Longship
bulkier ship for transporting goods- knarr
Norse navigational skills
focused on coast hugging and river nav first, explored over in open seas
Issues encounteres
tough to split the oakwood in half
shipwrecks
9/25
What is a perspective?
opinion or view on matter
way we view things based on experiences and knowledge, emotions playing a role
perspectives one might have: NYC, liberal bubble, american, multi-cultural, family-religion-origin, gender race age characteristics, expertise, wealth/social class
Can perspectives be wrong?
dependent on perspective- how far off are they
depends on how we state it, isw it posited as a universal fact or opinon/belief
how can we ensure accuracy of perspective?
manufacturers design
sorting through variety of views
no 100% certainty of perspectivrd providing full truth
TedTalk video “Facts, Opinions, & Lies”
Which hall mark of understanding perspectives is the most important? why?
reliability- perspective must have truthful foundation based on evidence
able to understand background/context
rationalization- is there academic debate or lies parading as discourse
truth is not relative, undisputable, no wiggleroom
extra awareness of social media
for one group to be right others have to be wrong
How can we distinguish between truth(facts) opinions and lies?
deniers denying the experiences the experiencers went through
deniers take lies and dress them as opinions
take facts and would distort them
9/30
climate change:
making earth warmer, sea levels rise
extreme weather, changing weather, more natural disaster
greenhouse gasses in atmosphere causing warming
impact on habitat, especially in colder regions
Estevez 51-54
figures 1.29, 1.31, 1.32, 1.34, and 1.35 are sources that historians studying norse exploration can use. Study the five figures and associated information. Do they convince you that there was a Medival Warm Period? Why/why not?
There is a common pattern of higher levels of temperature and indirect factors of temperature that show in all of the graphs that the medieval warm periods levels are rather slightly or significantly higher. I am convinced that there was a Medieval warm period since there is an upward trend between all of the graphs with a clear downward trend after the medieval warm period. Also there is a variety of types of scientific palaeoclimatology data supporting existence of warming period. One scientist doing meta synthesis of data purposefully omitted the tree ring data to focus on all other data bc tree ring tends to dominate. Focusing on other data he was also to find those results, which still supported warming pattern. Respected and expert researchers who are also from range of scientific backgrounds all corroborate. Data from variety of years also corroborate including more modern studies still supporting older ones.
what other sources of information, in addition to palaeoclimatological data, might help you find out about the Medival Warm Period?
Some other sources of information to help find out about the Medieval warm period could be statistics of sales from that time period. For example, what types of crops that were more popular or had a greater level of production. If we know the quality of crops back then we can see what types of environments they were grown in and we can gauge what the temperature was at the time.
HW questions in same packet 61-64
what information do sources B and C give you about the geographical extent of Arctic sea ice between c982 and 1020?
During this time period source B has a graph with the pattern that the arctic ice extent was relatively the same throughout these years. The amount of arctic sea ice was around 10km. However, in source C, it shows how the amount of sea ice decreased in area from march to september 1979.
Some historians argue that new sea routes, which opened up because there was less Arctic sea ice during the Medieval Warm Period, facilitated Norse exploration and the settlement of Greenland and Vinland. To what extent do you agree with this perspective?
I agree to a great extent with this perspective because less ice opened up more opportunities to travel on water and make more routes. This expanded abilities for the Norse to travel leading to exploration of their social and economic life. Also with less ice this provides safer conditions for ships to travel which gives the Norse more abilities to trade with other settlements. Desire to expand to trade network and looking for new lands already had the norse exploring, but the warm period aided them in this. Norse would have been aware of the decrease in sea ice, which would likely have motivated them to explore these new areas in the N atlantic. still risk, many still died so other factors must be influencing them to explore
10/1
How significant was the medieval warm period to norse expansion?
I think the information it provides is important since it supports that climate change is real since for a while the conditions have been relatively stable and this is more sudden and recent, however if there were more sources and researches to bust this myth it would make the claim stronger. Also since this website is backed up and a trusted source, it is good and also they include official data to support. UN’s purpose is to be objective, bring peace to the world, so they would share information that is supported by a wealth of evidence— established understandings
another perspective challenging established understanding— transparency
provided statistics and historical comparisons between different warming periods
***Useful then as reliable source
is the concept of the medieval warm period too simplistic?
in a way yes ot was one of many factors influencing the norse— an alignment of factors facilitated the expansion
not every part of the world warmed; not every part of the world had the same reaction— some glaciers seem to have expanded like in northern Greenland
HW
Was the Medieval Warm Period a significant contributor to Norse exploration? Contrast factor with other possible causes with opinion
The Medieval Warm Period was a significant enabling factor for Norse exploration, as reduced Arctic sea ice and milder temperatures opened up safer sea routes, extended sailing seasons, and made settlements in Greenland and Vinland agriculturally viable. However, in my opinion, climate alone was not the sole cause, but rather an environmental catalyst (V in VSEPM) that worked in tandem with other critical push and pull factors:
Technological Factors: Advanced ship-building techniques (clinker design, flexible oak hulls, square sails, knarr trading vessels) provided the essential tools for open-ocean navigation.
Socio-Political & Economic Factors: Land shortages and population pressure in Scandinavia and Iceland, political conflict and exile (e.g., Erik the Red), and the drive for valuable trade goods (walrus ivory, furs, timber) provided the direct motivation to expand.
Conclusion/Opinion: While the Medieval Warm Period facilitated safer ocean travel and rendered new lands habitable, Norse expansion was ultimately driven by a combination of technological capabilities, economic motives, and social pressures.
10/6 question
what do you think are the benefits of an interdisciplinary team for the study of Norse adaptation to Greenland environment?
Norse did have livestock, differed between Greenland & Iceland, also differed based on wealth/social status— Iceland had mostly sheep and goats- which was similar to greenland- wealthier people tended to have more cattle
10/7
estevez 90-92
compared to iceland greenlands population was much smaller, wild animals from hunting did not go extinct like they did on celand
farming was importat in both areas but iceland was extreme in altering the landscape not so drastic on greenland
Norse greenlands imported hunting techniques and supposedly practices of maintaining wild populations but on iceland this failed and on greenland it succeeded
more communal organization and shared responsibility and food distribution on greenland than elsewhere
walrus tusks- ivory- became a major trade item for greenlanders used entire animal
SOURCE SKILLS QUESTIONS
what does source H say about the use of manure by Norse settlers in Greenland? Identify at ;east one specific point of content from the source that supports this
did the norse use manure for their farms/pastures? source H says no, nitrogen levels there do not support manure usaye
argues norse in greenland did not have enough animals or manpower to make and use manure (lack of arable land)
what does source I say about the use of manure by Norse settlers in Greenland? Identify at ;east one specific point of content from the source that supports this
argues manure was used based on debris found in drainage ditches, finding microorganisms from manure at hiigh levels— possibly using irrigation to distribute manure
human sources
bishop— wealthy/high social class— cattle (POSSIBILITIES), wealthy had more cattle therefore more poop and had more servants for manpower
sources H and I are both academic articles. What are the pros and cons of academic research as source materials for historians? Use evidence from the context of source H and I tot support argument
Pros: lots of knowledge in subject since they study this for a long time
archaeologists and anthropologists and physicists used to back up claim
Cons: could potentially have bias and limited resources to research with
since they are academic they probobaly have specific resources to use which we are not completelu sure they are reliable, also dont know if they have been updated or facts have changed
source I gets some info from an article from 2009
Sources H and I appear to come to different conclusions about the use of manure by Norse settlers in Greenland. Contrast different arguments used in each source to support proposals
Source H: the norse did not use manure
Source I: the norse did use manure
Estevez 94
no farming in vinland
some evidence of trading with indigenous
focused on huntinf of cod seal whale
similar to foods in greenland but with some additions
most likely brought some domesticated animals for dairy, which was likely a trade product w indigenous
vinland was not a permament settlement— no animal buyers
seems like L’Anse Aux Meadows was only ever a base camp, traveling from greenland to deeper into vinland and back using L’Anse as a way/rest station
10/8
General conventions
avoid using I think, /, etc, …, in conclusion
Paper 1
3 prompts + sources
Paper 1.1-short answer-content
focus on 2+ themes
2+ pgs
2-3 pieces of info from 2 sources, comparative and contrasting info
explain how info responds to the Inquiry Question
does it support or counter main idea? show different perspective?
Paper 1.2-short answer
2+pgs
focus on context, OPVL and how the context influences content
5-6+ pieces of info from one source context and some content
how can you use the context to respond to the inquiry question? how can it help? what might you have to be wary of?
Paper 1.3- extended response
essay
focus on perspectives, based on context and content, from all 3 sources
explain how perspectivres respond to inquiry question- do they support or counter main idea? show diff perspectivrs?
include supporting, countering, different perspectives
10/9
Compare and contrast how the two sources narrate the same event of Norse, Erik the Red, arriving in Greenland
Source I
Erik the Red left Jadri to Iceland due to some killings
Thorvald: Leif erikson Erik the Red’s father
Lots of names and connections
disputes over wood? Saga of Erik— split sides
Includes thoughts and what some characters said during what was occuring— for example erik when he was preparing to voyage— said “he would return to his friends if he found land”
traveled around coast trying to find habitable land
did different things in different places each winter and summer during the period he was away
Spent time in Eriksfjord
went to iceland and also found greenland. reason for naming it greenland
the men who went with Erik claimed the land with him while others went to western settlement
eriks dad forced gto move
Source J
similar explanation of ancestry of Erik the red and leif erikson
Married thjodhild- mentions in both sources
erik had slaves, Eyjolf kinsman killed the slaves and then Erik killed Eyjolf, goes more into detail about who he kills'
was outlawed and mentioned lending thorgest wooden beams
more conflict with wooden beams and they fought, 2 of thorgests sons and other men fell— also ended up picking sides
also plans to find more land and report back to friends after he was outlawed and forced to prepare a ship to leave
arrived at the glacier Blaserkr
describes the same places he went during the winters and summers
erik was defeated after erik and thorgest fought but then reconciled
then found greenland
similarities
EXPLANATION OF HISTORICAL figures eriks dad erik eriks wife son and people they disputed w
specifics of both banishments are very similar wooden beams, and his discover nd exploration of greenlands main land
differences
source J goes into morw detail abt eriks first fight and his banishment talking abt eriks slaves causing a landslidr and eriks neighbors raising
10/16
estevez 40-45 roles of both erik the red and leif erikson
content into about Leif Erikson exploration
source K
The king wanted leif (one of Erik the Reds sons) to sail to greenland on a christianity mission.
leif thought it was hard but willing to take on the challenge
they found self sown wheat fields, grapevines, and maple trees on the lands they encountered and took samples of everything to use in the future
leif took men home (rescued) and this showed great nobility and honor, he was called “Leif the Lucky”, was well liked (objective take?)
influenced by tales Bjarni brought back of unknown lands
preached christianity since mission
souce L
Which types of evidence do you think are most useful for a historian assessing the reliability of the Vinland sagas?
oral histories of the norse that were written down after 200 years and rewritten over time w originals being lost- from norse perspective- likely making history/ancestors sounds more glorious than they were
anonymous authors
why do you think some thing saga of erik the red is more accurate (source K) , some think saga of the greenlanders (source L), some thik both are equally valuable?