tpo44 integrated writing

Actually, many archaeologists believe that the coin discussed in the reading is not a fake. They believe it represents genuine evidence that the Norse came into contact with Native Americans a thousand years ago.

The professor in the listening holds that the coin is actually a good evident to show the Norse had contact with Native Americans.

 

First, the great distance of the Maine site from the Norse settlements in Canada. Well, many other objects found at that same Native American site had come from faraway places, not just the coin. There's a perfectly reasonable historical explanation for these objects. The Native Americans who lived at the Maine site traveled great distances within North America. They were interested in obtaining objects from faraway places. The Native Americans could have reached the Norse settlements during their travels and brought the silver coin back to Maine.

First of all, the Native Americans like to travel far away to obtain some unique things that they do not have. Even though, according to reading, that the place where Norse presence is extremely far away from where the coin was found, it is very likely that some native Americans happen to travel to Norse Settlement and then carry the coin with them when they get to where they live such as Maine. It is well known that native Americans like to travel extensively far to exchange with other people.

 

Second, does the fact we found no other coins at Norse settlements mean that the Norse didn't bring any coins with them? Not necessarily. The Norse didn't create permanent settlements in North America. At some point, they went back to Europe. When they packed for their return voyage, they packed up all their valuable possessions. They would have packed up all silver coins they had as well. So,  it's completely possible that the Norse had originally brought the coins with them to North America, but when they returned to Europe, they took the coins back with them.

Moreover, the Norse could bring the extra coins with them when they came back from America. If the Norse carried a lot of coins with them, when he came back to their home countries, he would certainly carry the coins back, because he still needs to use it after he return.

 

 

Third, it's true that Native Americans wouldn't have viewed coins as money in the same way we do today, or the way the Norse did in Europe. But the Norse probably knew that the Native Americans valued attractive or unusual objects. Silver coins might have been very appealing because of their beauty. For example, they could have been used in necklaces or other types of jewelry. As long as Native Americans found the coins interesting and beautiful, the Norse could have used the coins to trade with them.

 

 

Finally, the silver coin actually very attractive for Native Americans. It is true that silver coin may seem useless for Native American, as the coins could not be used in exchange for other things like money. However, Native American may very likely be impressed by the well-designed coins that they might use it to create other valuable things, like necklace, jewelry etc. So, the coins might be exchanged when the Norse traded with the Native Americans.