Analysis of McGhee's 'Contact' Article: History 102A Assignment

This report analyzes Robert McGhee's article, 'Contact Between Native North Americans and the Medieval Norse: a Review of the Evidence,' focusing on the voyages of Greenlandic Norse to North America. The report dissects the author's arguments regarding the Norse presence, the sources used, including Icelandic and Vinland sagas and archaeological findings, and the historical debates surrounding the subject, such as the relationship between Europeans and the Beothucks and the Small Tool traditions. The analysis highlights the cultural interchange and social issues presented in the article, providing a comprehensive overview of the historical context and the debates surrounding Norse exploration and its interaction with Native American populations. The report also considers how the author's perspective fits into the existing debates on the topic.

Running head: HISTORY
History
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1HISTORY
Introduction
The article named “Contact Between Native North Americans and the Medieval Norse:
a Review of the Evidence” has been written by Robert McGhee who is famous for his works on
prehistoric period in arctic region and the eastern regions of Canada. The article was published in
the year 1984 (McGhee: 22). The topic of this article has focused on the voyages of the
Greenlandic Norse people who set out their journeys for coastal regions of North America.
Arguments
In this article, the author has made several arguments that are crucial for the development
of his views on this issue. The topic of the article has created huge interest in the minds of the
people throughout thousands of years. The presence of the Norse people in the North American
region has always been very mysterious fact (McGhee: 9). Therefore, their discoveries and their
reason for travelling to these new regions will be explored in this paper. The actual source of
Norse group has been argued in the article by the author.
The arguments in this article have also focused majorly on the contacts between Native
Americans and Norse people. Some information has been gathered from various sources
regarding the North American explorations of the Norse people. The geographical directions
have always been questioned in this scenario (McGhee: 10). The actual argument is regarding
descriptions of the sagas and myths about the presence of such regions in the countries.
The directions of sailing of these ships in those times have not been matched with the
other descriptions. Many poems and literature has been found regarding the descriptions of those
lands where people from Norse regions had set their feet. The arguments in the article also

2HISTORY
consist of the occupation of common people in those regions when Norse people came there.
There have been some differences of opinion also.
Sources
In this article, the author had to use several sources so the work could be completed
properly. He is a famous prehistory specialized author on arctic and Canadian regions. Therefore,
it is quite common that he had to work on various sources through minute reading (McGhee: 12).
The Icelandic sagas are one of those resources that the author has used in his descriptions.
Though there are many misconceptions and misguiding information since he had to rely on all
those information. This was the scenario since there was very little contemporary literature
available during those times.
He also had to depend on the translations made from different works of Norse language.
The Vinland sagas have been important considerations that the author has used as important
resources in his writings (McGhee: 16). Many descriptions have been found in the Norse
Greenlandic colonies that existed in those regions.
Therefore, all the resources from this pre historic age have been crucial sources for the
author to use. The archaeological explanations of the regions mainly of Vinland and
Newfoundland have been quite important for the understanding of the readers. The political
conditions of the 16th century are known to be full of hostility as per the records of that time
(McGhee: 14).

3HISTORY
Historical debates
There are several historical debates regarding this issue. The debates arise from the
hostile conditions that existed during the colonial reigns in North America. The enmity between
the Europeans and Beothucks has been discussed as a subject of debate (McGhee: 13). Thus, the
hostile conditions have been portrayed in the article.
The Small Tool traditions of the Arctic region and their movements towards the region of
Alaska have been described in this article (McGhee: 18). Thus, these descriptions have been
quite interesting to bring out the important factors of the shifting of regions. Some critics have
also implied the option that Norse people were mainly Eskimos of the Thule culture. This was
regarded as the foremost reason as to why they could stay in the cold regions of North America
in the winter season.
It has also been presented through the debate work that Norse people brought the
maritime hunting process with them so it could be put up as an effective way of occupation and
livelihood. On the other hand, the descriptions from the Greenlander’s Saga and Icelandic
chronicle have been quite efficient matters for the proper description of the events (McGhee: 15).
Conclusion
In the concluding section of this paper, it should be mentioned that the article has focused
on the cultures of the region of Native North America and their connections with the Norse
people. The interchange of cultures and social issues has been brought about through this article.

4HISTORY
References
McGhee, Robert. "Contact between native North Americans and the medieval Norse: a review of
the evidence." American Antiquity 49.1 (1984): 4-26.