A Viking Wonder Woman

I have Viking DNA... well, Scandinavian.... but given that most/much of my DNA is from Great Britain, it is assumed that my Scandinavian heritage is Viking.

Therefore, I can't help but think of Otzi, the prehistoric man found in the Alps. I mean, they did a DNA test on him and found 19 living descendants of his in the area. And he lived over 5,000 years ago. The woman below is from the 10th century. Wouldn't it be fun to find her living descendants? what a hoot. (And of course I want to be one of them!)

Historical accounts of female Viking warriors are often discounted as myths. But new DNA tests of a warrior buried in Sweden more than 1,000 years ago provide the first genetic evidence that some women held powerful, high-status positions in Viking culture. The 10th-century grave site, which was uncovered in the 1880s, contained a sword, arrows, a battle knife, a spear, shields, and two horses. The Viking, who stood 5-foot-6, was also buried with a set of game pieces—an indication of the deceased’s expertise in battle tactics. The archaeologists who uncovered the grave 130 years ago assumed it belonged to a high-ranking male warrior. “I think that’s a mistake that archaeologists make quite often,” archaeologist Becky Gowland tells The Guardian. “When we do that, we’re just reproducing the past in our image.” A recent DNA analysis revealed that the Viking leader lacked a Y chromosome—confirming that “he” was actually a “she.”

We also talk about Otzi here.

This article and photograph was taken from The Week Magazine, September 29, 2017 edition.