Viking Diversity: A Surprising Review
- Laura Bishop
- Dec 10, 2021
- 1 min read
Updated: Dec 11, 2021
One of the great myths of the Viking historical accounts is that they were largely pale-skinned and blond. However, sweeping new studies in forensic anthropology suggest that Viking DNA is frequently not Scandinavian. Anthropologists suggest through their investigations that due to extensive Viking travel culture, many peoples of various ancestral links were assimilated, adopted and willingly joined Viking culture; dying along with them in battle.
“These findings have important implications for social life in the Viking world, but we would've remained ignorant of them without ancient DNA,” says co-author Mark Collard, an archaeologist at Canada’s Simon Fraser University, in a statement. “They really underscore the power of the approach for understanding history."
For more information, enjoy this link on Smithsonian Magazine Online
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