Final answer:
Historical empathy is crucial in researching why the Vikings left Greenland, avoiding modern judgment to understand their perspectives. Climate changes and cultural factors are considered significant in assessing their reasons for departure, acknowledging the complexity of their situation.
Step-by-step explanation:
When exploring why the Vikings left Greenland, it is important to understand the concept of historical empathy, which involves seeing the past on its own terms, without the imposition of modern-day attitudes or judgments. As historians, the practice of historical empathy allows a closer, more nuanced view of events and decisions made in the past. While there could be multiple reasons and contributing factors to the Vikings' departure from Greenland, including environmental, economic, and social changes, historians must avoid judgment and aim to represent the historical narrative as accurately and unbiasedly as possible.
One reason that has emerged from historical sources suggests that climatic changes, known as the Little Ice Age, made Greenland's already harsh environment too difficult for Viking farming. Further, there could have been cultural factors, such as the Norse reluctance to adopt Inuit hunting and fishing techniques that might have aided in their survival. By applying historical empathy, we can attempt to understand these challenges from the perspective of the Vikings themselves, acknowledging the complexity of their situation and the weight of the decisions they faced.