[1] We often get an image of grizzled warriors when we see Vikings on TV, but analysis of skeletal remains shows that the Norse had more gender-neutral facial features than Scandinavians today, meaning males and females had more similar characteristics (Danish National Museum). The lack of empathy may not win you popularity contests but it certainly is a valuable trait in a competitive career field. Movies Among the Sami people (hailing from Northern Scandinavia), high cheekbones are very common. So with a large amount of growing evidence, it seems that the Smi came from somewhere much closer to their current home. That said, beards are currently fairly popular in the Nordics, as they were during the Viking Age (when insulting another mans beard could lead to death). Hello, I am interested in this claim here: It is believed that Vikings had more gender-neutral facial features than Scandinavians today, meaning males and females had more similar characteristics. All living humans who descended from Africa have about 2% Neanderthal DNA, and this includes Scandinavians. They have been affiliated with being people of great courage and also with being countries that invaded other countries. Archeological evidence on display on the Viking Museum of Oslo shows some very large Norsemen that are believed to have weighed around 130-140 kilograms, which amounts to 287-309 pounds. Recommendations Most people from the Nordics have light eyes and hair, and are quite tall compared to other nationalities. height of adult males during the Viking Age (in cm). Nordic spring/summer): First off, there are plenty of people with darker skin in todays Scandinavia, but they generally have more than just Scandinavian heritage in their family. The size and strength of Vikings are discussed further in William Shorts Icelanders in the Viking Age where he writes the following: One significant way in which Viking-age Scandinavians differed from modern people is in their physical strength. Of course, thats not to say there arent many Swedes with brown eyes. This can be compared to the Mediterranean region, where its concentrated on the chest and back instead. And despite my own hesitations, Short also believes that when the sagas describe feats of extraordinary strength they may not entirely be heroic exaggeration. Icelands epic landscapes draw hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Facts Shoes Genes and Languages in Europe: An Analysis of Mitochondrial Lineages. 1995. So the theory is that on top of any Vitamin D youd get from the sun, Scandinavians have also stocked up on it via their fish intake. Stockholm The average height of Swedes is slightly higher than the average height of Americans, both male and female. Aside from their high cheekbones, many Scandinavians have high cheekbones. High cheekbones werent always seen as a positive trait in the Nordic region though, as it was fairly common for the Germanic Scandinavians to look down upon the Finno-Ugric Samis as less civilized, at least up until the late 20th century. So it seems that all the pieces of the Smi puzzle have almost been put into place; however, with a history as long as theirs, pieces are always bound to be missing. Im a Nordic native (a Swede with a Finnish mother to be precise) who likes to get nerdy and share first-hand experiences, data-driven resources, and useful guides to help people discover and understand the culture, people, life, sights, design, and history (Vikings anyone?) I then categorized the colors as either light or dark: In other words, 85% of my friends and family in southern Scandinavia have light hair (ranging from blonde to light brown), and 75% have light eyes (blue, green, hazel, or grey). This is according to genetic research by Medland et al. Their cheekbones are high and their noses are thin. However, their high cheekbones are not due to genetics. an average adjusted for the population of each country within the region), we can see that the Nordic and Baltic men are the tallest in the world, but as the Baltic ladies are slightly taller (0.5 cm / 0.2 in) than their Nordic sisters, the Baltics narrowly takes the prize as the tallest region in the World in front of the Nordics. Some scientists give quite a bit of weight to the genetics of personality and it would stand to reason that at the very least some of personality is genetic which would lead to the idea that if you are Nordic or from Northern Europe than you are going to share some of that dog eat dog personality of your ancestors. Sign in to download full-size image Figure 2.17. What Is a Survival Benefit in Life Insurance? This may be the result of a period of isolation the group experienced in the course of their natural history. (Complete Guide), The Scandinavian physical stereotypes are as cliche as they are well-known the stereotypical Scandis are expected to be a bunch of tall, blonde-haired, and blue-eyed Vikings in most peoples minds but can those stereotypes actually be true in modern-day Scandinavia? With the help of modern DNA analysis of ancient Viking remains, we can also establish factors such as what hair color was most common among the Norse people, if they had a lot of body hair, and how likely it was that they had a beard (or at least could grow one). [3] Enjoy your visit! Below the neck, this body hair is generally concentrated on the arms and legs in the Nordics. Data Graphs 1999. Extensive genetic testing has helped put an end to the false conclusions that came from biased studies, based on everything from tooth size to skull shape. The study of these Y chromosomal polymorphisms shows two major founding male lineages in not only the Smi, but the Finns as well. Your email address will not be published. For many years, there was a common belief that the Smi may have migrated from the east and have an Asian genetic background rather than a European one. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/27702690.pdf, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2688-8, https://books.google.se/books/about/The_Annals_of_Fulda.html, https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2017-04-18-highs-and-lows-englishman%E2%80%99s-average-height-over-2000-years-0, https://www.arkeologi.uu.se/Research/Projects/viking-phenomenon/, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270795692_St_Johns_College_Oxford_St_Brices_Day_Massacre_Chapter_3_A_Late_Saxon_Mass_Grave_The_Human_Bone, https://books.google.se/books?id=E26YDwAAQBAJ, https://books.google.se/books?id=XZ4ZDAAAQBAJ, https://historiska.se/upptack-historien/artikel/det-hangde-pa-haret/, https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/vast/modetrendens-blodiga-historia, https://arkeologerna.com/bloggar/kyrkoarkeologi/okand-kyrkogard-hittad-i-vreta-kloster/, https://varldenshistoria.se/civilisationer/vikingar/vikingar-slaktades-och-slangdes-i-massgrav, http://pediatrisk-endokrinologi.no/2008/1/Werner_2008_1.pdf, https://forskning.ku.dk/soeg/result/?pure=da/persons/26558, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228627175_European_hair_and_eye_color_A_case_of_frequency-dependent_sexual_selection, https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-viking-age/the-people/appearance/, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-13064786. Stereotypical Scandinavian traits and facial features have since the early 20th century included straight, blonde hair; blue eyes; tall figure; a straight nose; thin lips; and non-prominent cheekbones, according to Werner & Bjrks 2014 book Blond and During the Viking Age, DNA analysis of skeletal remains suggests that the majority of Danish Vikings had red hair, so it seems to have been a prevalent trait in the region for a long time. https://www.svt.se/nyheter/vetenskap/de-var-de-forsta-svenskarna, https://www.myheritage.se/ethnicities/sweden/country-ethnicity-distribution, https://jeffwerner.se/SKIASCOPE+6%20JW%20texts.pdf, https://www.ifau.se/globalassets/pdf/se/2016/r-2016-17-arbetsformedlares-beslutsfattande-och-stereotyper-kopplade-till-utseende.pdf, https://www.thelocal.se/20200918/why-not-all-vikings-were-blond-haired-and-blue-eyed/, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10086866/, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002929709004649#fig1, https://www.wcrf.org/dietandcancer/skin-cancer-statistics/, https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-05/tjnj-ser052314.php, https://academic.oup.com/hmg/article/17/6/835/601141, https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1006616, http://hmg.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/10/16/1701, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2795070/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_Strongest_Man, https://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/hotels-com/pressreleases/svenskar-vackrast-i-norden-1015389, https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2015.0211, https://si.se/bilden-av-sverige-i-norden/, https://fof.se/tidning/2015/5/artikel/darfor-blev-vi-plotsligt-langre, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ics.12328, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1474704916631614, https://www.svd.se/samiskt-arv-skulle-doljas, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1473-2165.2007.00333.x. Although it isnt exactly common with Epicanthic folds among the Swedish population, Swedes with Sami heritage (famous examples include Jens Byggmark, Anja Prson and Ingemar Stenmark), and from the northern parts in general, have higher rates of Epicanthic eye folds. Their beginnings are closely linked with the origin of the Finns. These average heights can be compared to the current average male height of 175.3 cm (5 ft 8 in) in both the US and England, which means most Vikings were likely quite tall even by modern standards. Keep reading to learn more! Top 5 Most Innovative and Futuristic Cars of 2023, Ways To Store Marijuana Correctly to Maintain Freshness, How Chemistry And Business Are Interrelated, A Beginners Guide To Coin Grades: How They Are Calculated, Six Marketing Methods Every Pest Control Company Should Try, 10 Best And Cheapest Sites To Buy Instagram Followers in 2023, Reasons Why a Real Estate Company Buys Houses for Cash. [2] Sweden is a beautiful country that attracts many tourists and ex-pats each year. Pale pink skin often with moles, blue eyes, thin to rounded lips, high not that sculptured cheekbones, a bit fat on cheeks(not visable chin/cheek m Lets also look at how Nordic people as a whole compare to people from other regions of the world in height: After adding up the individual country data and calculating a weighted average for each region (i.e. The surgeons in Scandinavia can correct the issue and give you a more attractive and balanced face. Get some Scandi spirit in your home with our premium museum-quality prints sent right to your doorstep with free shipping worldwide. Viking merchants were noted for their many tattoos by the Muslim chronicler Ibn Fadlan, but that is the only real evidence of Viking tattoos that we know of, meaning its not very likely to be a widespread phenomenon in the Norse world. Read Article Now. Are Epicanthic folds common in Scandinavia? 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