account and poems from the Medieval geological era contain accounts of fearsome female Viking warrior , yet historians and anthropologists have reason that such accounts are found in myth . A deoxyribonucleic acid analysis of a 10th one C systema skeletale find in an iconic Swedish Viking Age tomb indicate there ’s some truth to these old tales — and that women stood alongside world on the field .
By analyzing the nuclear DNA and atomic number 38 isotopes of an individual buried at a well - known warrior ’s grave from the Viking Age , researcher from the University of Uppsala have confirmed that the skeleton belonged to a female person . “ Written sources mention female warriors on occasion , but this is the first time that we ’ve really retrieve convincing archaeological evidence for their being , ” say Uppsala archaeologist Neil Price in a press release .
This grave , known as Bj 581 , was first excavated in the 1880s , and it ’s take a prime example of an luxuriant gamy - status warrior grave . Located in the Swedish town of Birka — a key trading hub from the 8th to 10th centuries — the grave , in addition to the lone skeleton , bear a host of item revelatory of a warrior , including a blade , axe , spear , battle knife , armour - piercing arrows , and two cavalry . Of import , it also include a full Seth of play bit and a gaming board — an item typically associated with a high - rank officer .
For well over a century , anthropologist and historian take it for granted that the skeleton belonged to a mankind , as graves like these have only previously been link up with male warriors — this despite the fact that floor had emerge during the Middle Ages about fierce Viking women fight back alongside men . Such accounts can be find in Viking graphics and poetry , but experts assert that these write up were strictly mythological .
But in the seventies , a geomorphological analysis of the Bj 581 skeleton suggested it belong to a female person . No one bothered to follow - up on this determination owe to its manifest implausibility , and because there was no good path to confirm it . Last yr , a alike psychoanalysis come up to the same conclusion , prompting the Uppsala investigator to solve the mystery once and for all using genomic technologies .
After extracting desoxyribonucleic acid from the skeleton , Price and his colleagues found that the individual carried a pair of X chromosome and no Y chromosome . Isotopic analysis of her teeth suggested a high rate of geographical mobility , which was see as further grounds of her warrior status . “ Hence the somebody in grave Bj 581 is the first confirm distaff richly - range Viking warrior , ” wrote the researchers in thestudy , which was published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology last week .
“ The gaming set indicates that she was an policeman , someone who worked with tactics and strategy and could head troops in engagement , ” noted Charlotte Hedenstierna - Jonson from Stockholm University , who led the study . “ What we have study was not a Valkyrie from the sagas but a real life military leader , that happen to have been a womanhood . ”
Hedenstierna - Jonson and her colleagues say it ’s possible that a second skeleton in the cupboard belong to to a male person may be missing from the grave accent , and that the relics found in the grave accent belonged to this hypothetical individual , but “ the statistical distribution of the grave good within the grave , their spatial relative to the distaff individual and the full lack of any typically female attributed grave artefacts disputes this possibility . ” Also , the skeleton does n’t march any obvious signs of injuries declarative of a warrior , but weapon - concern wounds are n’t unwashed in the Birka burying .
Like so many assertions made in anthropology and archaeology , complete certainty is rarely attainable . irrespective , this study shows the power of using genomic technologies to commute our sympathy of the past , include issues pertaining to gender theatrical role . A cogitation like this also exposes our sexist biases . As noted , previous experts had blindly wear that the body belong to to a male , which we now sleep together was a big mistake . In their conclude remarks , the researchers warn about about these sorting of preconceived notions .
“ Although not possible to find out , previous arguments have likely omit intersectional perspectives where the societal status of the person was weigh of greater importance than biologic sexual activity , ” concluded the researcher . “ This case of logical thinking take off the agency of the bury female … Our results monish against sweeping version base on archaeological contexts and prejudice . They supply a Modern savvy of the Viking companionship , the social twist and also norms in the Viking Age . ”
[ American Journal of Physical Anthropology ]
anthropologyArchaeologyHistoryScienceVikings
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