‘Viking’ was a job description, not a matter of heredity, massive ancient DNA study shows
sciencemag.org- By looking closely at viking-related archeological sites, researchers uncovered that non-Scandinavian people joined the vikings as they raided Europe.
- 442 Viking Age genomes were sequenced, showing that Vikings were more likely to have black hair, and that being a Viking was a job, not a genetic inheritance.
- Additionally, the routes of Swedish, Danish and Norwegian Vikings were traced using DNA data, uncovering new details about where they traveled.
- Swedes moved to the Baltics, Poland, then Russia and Ukraine; Danes headed towards England; Norwegians sailed to Ireland, Iceland and Greenland.

on September 18, 2020