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| 2. |
- Hedenstierna-Jonson, Charlotte, 1971-, et al.
(författare)
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A female Viking warrior confirmed by genomics
- 2017
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Ingår i: American Journal of Physical Anthropology. - : Wiley. - 0002-9483 .- 1096-8644. ; 164:4, s. 853-860
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ObjectivesThe objective of this study has been to confirm the sex and the affinity of an individual buried in a well-furnished warrior grave (Bj 581) in the Viking Age town of Birka, Sweden. Previously, based on the material and historical records, the male sex has been associated with the gender of the warrior and such was the case with Bj 581. An earlier osteological classification of the individual as female was considered controversial in a historical and archaeological context. A genomic confirmation of the biological sex of the individual was considered necessary to solve the issue.Materials and methodsGenome-wide sequence data was generated in order to confirm the biological sex, to support skeletal integrity, and to investigate the genetic relationship of the individual to ancient individuals as well as modern-day groups. Additionally, a strontium isotope analysis was conducted to highlight the mobility of the individual.ResultsThe genomic results revealed the lack of a Y-chromosome and thus a female biological sex, and the mtDNA analyses support a single-individual origin of sampled elements. The genetic affinity is close to present-day North Europeans, and within Sweden to the southern and south-central region. Nevertheless, the Sr values are not conclusive as to whether she was of local or nonlocal origin.DiscussionThe identification of a female Viking warrior provides a unique insight into the Viking society, social constructions, and exceptions to the norm in the Viking time-period. The results call for caution against generalizations regarding social orders in past societies.
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| 3. |
- Kirdok, Emrah, et al.
(författare)
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Metagenomic analysis of Mesolithic chewed pitch reveals poor oral health among stone age individuals
- 2024
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Nature. - 2045-2322. ; 13:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Prehistoric chewed pitch has proven to be a useful source of ancient DNA, both from humans and their microbiomes. Here we present the metagenomic analysis of three pieces of chewed pitch from Huseby Klev, Sweden, that were dated to 9,890-9,540 before present. The metagenomic profile exposes a Mesolithic oral microbiome that includes opportunistic oral pathogens. We compared the data with healthy and dysbiotic microbiome datasets and we identified increased abundance of periodontitis-associated microbes. In addition, trained machine learning models predicted dysbiosis with 70-80% probability. Moreover, we identified DNA sequences from eukaryotic species such as red fox, hazelnut, red deer and apple. Our results indicate a case of poor oral health during the Scandinavian Mesolithic, and show that pitch pieces have the potential to provide information on material use, diet and oral health.
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| 4. |
- Krzewińska, Maja, et al.
(författare)
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Genomic and Strontium Isotope Variation Reveal Immigration Patterns in a Viking Age Town
- 2018
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Ingår i: Current Biology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0960-9822 .- 1879-0445. ; 28:17, s. 2730-2738
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The impact of human mobility on the northern European urban populations during the Viking and Early Middle Ages and its repercussions in Scandinavia itself are still largely unexplored. Our study of the demographics in the final phase of the Viking era is the first comprehensive multidisciplinary investigation that includes genetics, isotopes, archaeology, and osteology on a larger scale. This early Christian dataset is particularly important as the earlier common pagan burial tradition during the Iron Age was cremation, hindering large-scale DNA analyses. We present genome-wide sequence data from 23 individuals from the 10th to 12th century Swedish town of Sigtuna. The data revealed high genetic diversity among the early urban residents. The observed variation exceeds the genetic diversity in distinct modern-day and Iron Age groups of central and northern Europe. Strontium isotope data suggest mixed local and non-local origin of the townspeople. Our results uncover the social system underlying the urbanization process of the Viking World of which mobility was an intricate part and was comparable between males and females. The inhabitants of Sigtuna were heterogeneous in their genetic affinities, probably reflecting both close and distant connections through an established network, confirming that early urbanization processes in northern Europe were driven by migration.
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| 5. |
- Price, Neil, et al.
(författare)
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Viking warrior women? Reassessing Birka chamber grave Bj.581
- 2019
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Ingår i: Antiquity. - : Antiquity Publications. - 0003-598X .- 1745-1744. ; 93:367, s. 181-198
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The warrior woman has long been part of the Viking image, with a pedigree that extends from the Valkyries of Old Norse prose and poetry to modern media entertainment. Until recently, however, actual Viking Age evidence for such individuals has been sparse. This article addresses research showing that the individual buried at Birka in an ‘archetypal’ high-status warrior grave—always assumed to be male since its excavation in 1878—is, in fact, biologically female. Publication, in 2017, of the genomic data led to unprecedented public debate about this individual. Here, the authors address in detail the interpretation of the burial, discussing source-critical issues and parallels.
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| 6. |
- Rodríguez-Varela, Ricardo, et al.
(författare)
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The genetic history of Scandinavia from the Roman Iron Age to the present
- 2023
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Ingår i: Cell. - : Elsevier. - 0092-8674 .- 1097-4172. ; 186:1, s. 32-46
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigate a 2,000-year genetic transect through Scandinavia spanning the Iron Age to the present, based on 48 new and 249 published ancient genomes and genotypes from 16,638 modern individuals. We find regional variation in the timing and magnitude of gene flow from three sources: the eastern Baltic, the British-Irish Isles, and southern Europe. British-Irish ancestry was widespread in Scandinavia from the Viking period, whereas eastern Baltic ancestry is more localized to Gotland and central Sweden. In some regions, a drop in current levels of external ancestry suggests that ancient immigrants contributed proportionately less to the modern Scandinavian gene pool than indicated by the ancestry of genomes from the Viking and Medieval periods. Finally, we show that a north-south genetic cline that characterizes modern Scandinavians is mainly due to the differential levels of Uralic ancestry and that this cline existed in the Viking Age and possibly earlier.
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| 7. |
- Sten, Sabine, et al.
(författare)
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Erik den heliges skelett : [Saint Erik's skeleton]
- 2016
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Ingår i: Fornvännen. - 0015-7813 .- 1404-9430. ; 111:1, s. 27-40
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Saint Erik was King of Sweden for a few years up to 1160, when he was killed. A skeleton attributed to him is kept in Uppsala Cathedral. It underwent scientific reappraisal in 2014. The analyses included computer tomography, Xray absorptiometry, isotope analysis and DNA sampling. Radiocarbon confirms the alleged age of the bones. They belong to a 35–40yearold man inexcellent physical shape. The many wounds that he received in connectionwith his death fit surprisingly well with the saint's legend, whose preservedversion was written 130 years after the event.
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| 8. |
- Sten, Sabine, et al.
(författare)
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Erik den heliges skelett
- 2016
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Ingår i: Fornvännen. - 0015-7813 .- 1404-9430. ; 111:1, s. 27-40
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Saint Erik was King of Sweden for a few years up to 1160, when he was killed. A skeleton attributed to him is kept in Uppsala Cathedral. It underwent scientific reappraisal in 2014. The analyses included computer tomography, Xray absorptiometry, isotope analysis and DNA sampling. Radiocarbon confirms the alleged age of the bones. They belong to a 35-40-year-old man in excellent physical shape. The many wounds that he received in connection with his death fit surprisingly well with the saint's legend, whose preserved version was written 130 years after the event.
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