Unfortunately for those who consider that The Northman (2022) has not been appreciated as it should have been, the bloody Viking life it depicted may not reflect reality, even without the supernatural elements. Relics examined by anthropologists reveal that Vikings in what is now Denmark were more peaceful than those in Norway, who had fewer weapons and used them less frequently than their southern neighbors.
A new one study which published the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology combined analysis of human skeletal remains and ancient weapons, as well as readings of ancient runes, to examine how Viking societies in those two places differed. They found that the Danes were not only less prone to violence but that their authority structure was more centralized, and that the two characteristics may be related.
Bloody looting
Although Vikings are often depicted as bloodthirsty raiders addicted to slaughter, the truth about the role of violence in their society is more complex than that. Some historians suggest that Vikings were no more violent than other contemporary societies. And if that’s true, the study’s authors point out that violence was part of Viking culture anyway, something we see in their account of the origin of the world, centered around the killing and dismemberment of a giant. Anyone who has seen the best Thor movie will know that the Viking vision of the end of the world was equally bloody, with a final battle called Ragnarök. Viking poetry and religious beliefs were also bloody.
But Viking Age swords are not as common a find in Denmark. The average is one late Iron Age sword per 547 square km. By comparison, in the region around the city of Stavanger in Norway, one sword has been found per 32.7 square km. Signs of pre-mortem wounds are also more likely in Norwegian skeletons. Of the 30 Norwegians examined, 18 showed signs of injury. Six of the Danish skeletons showed signs of injury, although it clearly dated to the time of death; four of the 82 skeletons examined had been decapitated and one had been hanged. But none of the Norwegians had their head removed (the sample consisted of only 18 skeletons).
Violence was not the only difference. Norwegian Vikings may have been socially organised around power over others, whereas the Danes had a central authority, with a less power-based everyday civil and social life.
Among Andean tribes, too, human bodies show more trauma in areas with less political centralization.
This article was translated from Gizmodo US by Lucas H. Here you can find the original version.
