‘Viking’ was a job description, not a matter of heredity, massive ancient DNA study shows.
They were buried around 750 C.E. in two ships with Viking-style weapons and treasure—apparently the aftermath of a raid gone wrong.
DNA from the bones has now added a poignant detail: Four of the men, buried shoulder to shoulder holding their swords, were brothers.
The new data come from a massive effort to sequence the DNA of Vikings across Europe.
The Estonian site, for example, offers powerful evidence that the crew was a tight-knit group from the same village or town.
The team also gathered human remains from burials elsewhere in Europe and beyond that had Viking grave goods or burial styles.
And comparing DNA and archaeology at individual sites suggests that for some in the Viking bands, “Viking” was a job description, not a matter of heredity. »