The majority of literature about the Viking period, based on artefacts or written sources, covers battles, kings, chiefs and mercenaries, long distance travel and colonisation, trade, and settlement. Less is said about the life of those that stayed at home, or those that immigrated into Scandinavia, whether voluntarily or by force.

This book uses results from the examination of a substantial corpus of Swedish osteological material to discuss aspects of demography and health in the Viking period – those which would have been visible and recognisable in the faces or physical appearances of the individuals concerned. It explores the effects of migration, from the spread of new diseases such as leprosy to patterns of movement and integration of immigrants into society. The skeletal material also allows the study of levels of violence, attitudes towards disablement, and the care provided by Viking communities. An overview of the worldwide phenomenon of modified teeth also gives insight into the practice of deliberate physical embellishment and body modification.

The interdisciplinary approach to questions regarding ordinary life presented here will broaden the knowledge about society during the Viking Age. The synthesis of the Swedish unburnt human skeletal remains dated to the Viking age will be a valuable resource for future research, and provides an in-depth view on Viking age society.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface and acknowledgment
• 1. The bare bones
• 2. Eight Viking Age burial grounds in south-east Sweden
  • Trinitatis: an early Christian graveyard in Lund
  • Vannhög: a burial place near an old Viking fortress
  • Fjälkinge: a remarkable burial ground on the fertile plain
  • Kopparsvik: a cemetery south of Visby
  • Slite Square: with a view of sailing routes to the east
  • Fröjel: a burial ground beside a Viking Age harbour
  • Birka: a well-known trading place in the realm of the Svear
  • Skämsta: a farm cemetery
  • A wide range of burial practices
  • Everyone was buried
• 3. Immigrants or locals?
  • A geological signature can be detected in dental enamel
  • Different patterns emerge
  • Someone knew how the deceased wanted to be buried
  • Did everyone come here voluntarily?
• 4. Health and care for the frail
  • “Tall as palm trees”
  • Toothless or shining white?
  • Joint problems
  • Everyday accidents and battle traumas
  • The dwarf
  • Leprosy: noseless and numb
  • Health in Viking Age society
• 5. Markers of identity?
  • Filed grooves on the teeth
  • Young, old, short, and tall
  • Buried like other people?
  • Was Gotland the gathering point?
  • A Nordic custom or inspiration from elsewhere?
  • Why file grooves in teeth?
• 6. Burial grounds designated for particular purposes?
  • The influence of Christianity or division into special areas?
  • Market places and harbours?
• 7. A time of many faces
• Appendix: Strontium values
• Notes
• References