Human remains, context, and place of origin for the Salme, Estonia, boat burials

• Isotopic proveniencing of all individuals from the ship and boat burials at Salme, Estonia, is the subject of this study of the interred human remains from around AD 750, at the beginning of the Viking period. The isotopic results indicate that the majority of these individuals came from a region with higher strontium isotopic ratios than those found in Estonia. There were five individuals, buried in Salme II-the ship burial with 34 individuals-who exhibited lower strontium isotope ratios that might have come from the Swedish island of Gotland or several other possible places. The combination of isotopic signals and archaeological information suggests that the majority of buried individuals (those with higher strontium isotope ratios) came from the Malaren Valley in east-central Sweden.

Subject headings

HUMANIORA  -- Historia och arkeologi -- Arkeologi (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- History and Archaeology -- Archaeology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Viking

Isotopic proveniencing

Strontium

Ship burial

Archaeology

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)