In the period around the year 1000, few major cultural or geopolitical developments are often expected. The general picture is that Europeans had not yet been to North America and that the longest sea voyages were limited to the Vikings, such as their invasion of Great Britain. Yet the presence of blond-haired figures in Maya temple wall paintings at Chichén Itzá in Mexico raises questions. This sheds new light on the question of whether the Vikings may already have reached America during the height of the Maya Empire.