The Norse settle Greenland
Norsemen settled the uninhabited southern part of Greenland beginning in the 10th century, having previously settled Iceland to escape persecution from the King of Norway and his central government.
Discovery & exploration
Vikings discover Iceland
Recorded settlement has conventionally been dated back to 874, although archaeological evidence indicates Gaelic monks from Ireland had settled Iceland before that date.
Irish monks discover the Faroe Islands
The first known settlers in the Faroe Islands were Irish monks, who in the 6th century C.E. told of the “Islands of the Sheep and the Paradise of Birds.”
Malays from Borneo become perhaps the first humans to discover Seychelles
The early history of Seychelles is unknown. Malays from Borneo, who eventually settled on Madagascar, perhaps lingered here circa 200-300 C.E.
Hanno the Navigator of Carthage explores the coasts of West Africa
In the 5th century B.C.E., the Carthaginian explorer Hanno sailed beyond the Pillars of Hercules, out of the Mediterranean and into hitherto unknown territory down the Atlantic coast of Africa.
The Lapita people discover and settle modern-day Samoa
Samoa was discovered and settled by their Lapita ancestors (Austronesian people speaking Oceanic languages), with New Zealand scientists dating remains in Samoa to about 2900–3500 years ago.
Humans make glass for the first time, perhaps in modern-day Syria
The ancient Roman historian Pliny suggested that Phoenician merchants had made the first glass in the region of Syria around 5000 B.C.E. But according to the archaeological evidence, the first man made glass was in Eastern Mesopotamia and Egypt around 3500 B.C.E.
Humans discover and settle the island of Sri Lanka
Balangoda Man arrived on the island about 34,000 years ago and has been identified as Mesolithic hunter-gatherers who lived in caves
Humans settle in modern-day Japan for the first time
Japan was then connected to mainland Asia by at least one land bridge, and nomadic hunter-gatherers crossed to Japan.
The Azores are discovered, possibly by Vikings
Although it was traditionally believed that Portuguese explorers were the first humans to arrive on the Azores – an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atlantic Ocean – there is evidence to suggest otherwise. Researchers have discovered that 5-beta-stigmasterol is present in sediment samples from between 700 and 850 C.E. This compound is found in the feces of livestock, such as sheep and cattle, neither of which are native to the islands. Additionally, mice on the Azores were discovered to have mitochondrial DNA suggesting they first arrived from Northern Europe, suggesting that they were brought to the islands by Norwegian Vikings.