The Viking warrior was a woman – Uppsala

Researchers at Stockholm University and Uppsala University demonstrate this in a study published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.

“Our DNA analysis of the skeleton is the first formal proof that the profession of war during the Viking era must also have been open to women,” says Professor Mattias Jakobsson at the Uppsala University Evolutionary Biological Center.

In the study, researchers with advanced methods of tracing and analyzing ancient DNA examined samples of a canine tooth and bone from the upper arm of the skeleton found in a late-19th-century excavation adjacent to the Viking Age garrison in Birka.

Among the many objects in the grave were a sword, an ax, a spear, various arrows, a combat knife, various dice, and the remains of a game plan.

– When the tomb was excavated, archaeologists assumed it was a man who was buried in it, especially since the findings indicate that the person must have been of higher rank and a leading role in Viking-era military organization, he says. Mattias Jakobsson.

It is only in recent years that this point of view began to be seriously questioned, among other things, after a careful analysis of the bones in the grave that it indicates that they come from a woman.

– Since our DNA analysis shows that the person in the grave lacks the chromosome and male, we can now confidently confirm that this is indeed the case. Thus, one can consider evidence that women during the Viking Age could at least be full members in a male-dominated area, says Mattias Jakobsson.

The complete genetic analysis of the dental and bone samples of this Viking warrior shows the closest relationship with the inhabitants of today in southern and central Sweden.

– However, it cannot be ruled out that she came from any other part of northern Europe or even from the British Isles. However, we can safely say that she did not grow up in Birka. It shows the so-called isotope analysis we also did of the skeleton, says Mattias Jakobsson.

According to the researchers, there are now reasons to analyze DNA from the skeletal remains of other Viking-era war graves, including in Norway, where bone analyzes indicate that the buried warriors may be women.

– A clear lesson is that there are good reasons to question radical interpretations, which are based on a lack of knowledge about archaeological contexts and preconceived notions of how ancient societies were organized, says Mattias Jakobsson.