Post by Mortimer on Jun 8, 2018 3:30:15 GMT
In the late 1880s, Swedish archaeologists excavated a well-furnished 10th century Viking burial site where they discovered the skeletal remains of a warrior. Cradled against a sword, the mysterious Viking was entombed with all the equipment required for battle, including a spear, an axe, armor-piercing arrows, shields, two horses, and gaming pieces, which suggested to the archaeologists that the Viking was a high-ranking military strategist.
For decades, experts assumed this grave contained the remains of a man. It wasn’t until multiple independent investigations reported the skeleton was female that modern scholars attempted a DNA analysis to know for sure. Researchers analyzed DNA samples from the Viking’s teeth and arm bone, but could not detect any trace of a Y chromosome: this warrior was a woman. Their work also revealed the northern European ancestry of the Viking and uncovered her mitochondrial haplogroup, T2b.
Both you and this viking warrior are descendants of a woman who lived in Europe around 10,000 years ago at the end of the ice age and the beginning of the Neolithic Revolution.
For decades, experts assumed this grave contained the remains of a man. It wasn’t until multiple independent investigations reported the skeleton was female that modern scholars attempted a DNA analysis to know for sure. Researchers analyzed DNA samples from the Viking’s teeth and arm bone, but could not detect any trace of a Y chromosome: this warrior was a woman. Their work also revealed the northern European ancestry of the Viking and uncovered her mitochondrial haplogroup, T2b.
Both you and this viking warrior are descendants of a woman who lived in Europe around 10,000 years ago at the end of the ice age and the beginning of the Neolithic Revolution.
