Led by Erik the Red, in 985 AD, an initial wave of Vikings from Scandinavia establish two successful outposts along the fjords of Southern Greenland – the ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ settlements. Numbering around 4,000 at their peak, they construct manor house and work the harsh terrain, to make it suitable for their European pastoralist life. They raise sheep, goats, and cattle; they trade furs, walrus-tusk ivory, and other arctic goods with Europe. For hundreds of years, they hold a quasi-monopoly on the European ivory trade, and almost all of it comes from walruses hunted by the Norsemen in Greenland. However, despite their commercial success, the Norse suddenly and mysteriously disappear from historical record at the start of the 15th century. The fate of the Norse will continue to bewilder archaeologists for centuries to come.

Founded at the beginning of the 9th century CE, the Khmer Empire had been one of the most powerful states in Southeast Asia, covering much of Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Southern Vietnam. The jewel in the crown was the capital city of the Khmer – Angkor – containing the largest religious structure ever built, Angkor Wat. The key to this growth was the Khmer mastery of rice cultivation and water management. Khmer cities were ‘hydraulic cities’, made up of complex systems of canals and reservoirs called ‘barays’, which steered water from the Khulen mountains to the plains of Angkor, ensuring a year-round supply for the population, agriculture, and livestock. Soon, however, the very factors that allowed the empire to rise lead to the abandonment of the Khmer’s magnificent temple-cities and their reclaim by the rainforest.