Did Vikings really reach the Americas 500 years before Columbus?

The answer

In 1960, archaeologists Helge and Anne Stine Ingstad discovered a Norse settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada, confirming Viking sagas about voyages to "Vinland." In 2021, a groundbreaking study published in Nature used a cosmic ray event from 993 CE as a reference marker in tree rings from wooden artifacts at the site, precisely dating the Viking presence to 1021 CE - exactly 471 years before Columbus. The settlement included eight timber-framed buildings, a forge, and evidence of iron smelting. Led by Leif Erikson, the Norse explored from a base in Greenland, making them the first known Europeans in the Americas.