What were the Vikings really like? Most were neither blonde nor blue-eyed, new DNA study found

Nature, which sequences the genomes of 442 Viking remains Areas inhabited by Vikings such as northern Europe, Italy and Greenland, human remains dated between 2400 BC and 1600 AD and which have been buried along with a variety of Viking artifacts, reveal much more genetic diversity than previously thought about people who They came from the land of ice and snow. After all, the Vikings were a scattered group whose sailing the sea for trade, exploration, and conquest saw them settle far and wide during the Viking Age which lasted from around 700 AD to 1100 AD.

Not only do many of the Vikings studied do not turn out to be blond or blue-eyed, but their genetic mix shows that they were not a distinct ethnic group, but a mixture of several other groups, “ with hunter-gatherer ancestors. , farmers and populations of the Eurasian Steppe. “

The study revealed which Scandinavian countries influenced the outer regions the most. “Danish Vikings went to England, while Swedish Vikings went to the Baltic and Norwegian Vikings went to Ireland, Iceland and Greenland,” according to Ashot Margaryan of the University of Copenhagen. Three particularly genetically diverse areas, one in modern Denmark and the other on the Swedish islands of Gotland and Öland, were likely key trading centers.

The results of this genetic analysis suggest that the very idea of ​​being a Viking was probably more of a way of life or a job.

“(The) results also reveal that in Viking times, being a Viking was both a concept and a culture and a matter of genetic inheritance, and the team discovered that two Viking skeletons buried in the islands in the north of Scotland had what appeared to be relatively pure Scottish and Irish heritage with no Scandinavian influence, at least not genetically speaking, ie.

“These identities are neither genetic nor ethnic, they are social,” archaeologist Cat Jarman told Science magazine. “Having a DNA backup is powerful.”

And as Science magazine also points out, “several people in Norway were buried as Vikings, but their genes identified them as Saami, an indigenous group genetically closer to East Asians and Siberians than to Europeans.”

For more Vikings coverage, check out what showrunner Michael Hirst recently revealed to us about what’s in store for the final season of Vikings and why the follow-up series, Valhalla, will be on. Netflix instead of History Channel.