Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T18:03:54.621Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Spatial and Temporal Trends in New Cases of Men with Modified Teeth from Sweden (AD 750–1100)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2017

Anna Kjellström
Anna Kjellström*
Affiliation:
Osteoarchaeological Research Laboratory, Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies, Stockholm University, Sweden
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Vikings with artificially modified teeth have previously been documented in the south-eastern parts of Scandinavia and in England. In a project dealing with life in the Mälaren Valley in Sweden during the period AD 750–1100, new cases of people with modified maxillary teeth were observed. The hypothesis that the practice was entirely associated with adult men dating to the Viking Age was tested. The new cases demonstrate that the habit extended to eastern-central Sweden, including the proto-town of Birka, perhaps as early as in the middle of the eighth century. Additionally, cases from Sigtuna show that the practice may have ended as late as the beginning of the twelfth century. A microanalysis, using a scanning electron microscope, showed the heterogeneous character of the modifications. The affected individuals were all adult men, similar to previously published cases. Some of the men are associated with weapons and violent acts and the cases from Sigtuna were all from cemeteries with a possible association with lower social strata. However, discrepancies in archaeological contexts and in the characteristics of the modifications suggest temporal and spatial variation in the social meaning of the modifications.

Des découvertes de Vikings aux dents artificiellement modifiées avaient déjà été documentées dans les régions du sud-est de la Scandinavie et en Angleterre. Un projet traitant de la vie dans la vallée de Mälaren en Suède durant la période de 750 à 1100 apr. J.C. dévoila de nouveaux individus aux maxillaires modifiées. On mit à l'essai l'hypothèse que cette pratique était uniquement associée à des hommes adultes de l'Âge des Vikings. Les nouveaux cas montrent que cette habitude était probablement déjà répandue jusqu'à l'est de la Suède centrale, y compris la proto-ville de Birka, au milieu du 8e siècle. De plus, des exemples de Sigtuna montrent que cette pratique pourrait même avoir perdurée jusqu'au début du 12e siècle. Une microanalyse à l'aide d'un microscope électronique à balayage témoigne du caractère hétérogène de ces modifications. Les individus affectés étaient tous des mâles adultes, comme dans les cas publiés antérieurement. Quelques-uns des hommes étaient associés à des armes et des actes de violence; et les exemples de Sigtuna proviennent sans exeption de cimetières montrant une possible association aux couches sociales inférieures. Toutefois, les divergences dans les contextes archéologiques et dans les caractéristiques des modifications suggèrent que la signification sociale des modifications était soumise à une variation temporelle et spatiale. Translation by Isabelle Gerges.

Zusammenfassung

Zusammenfassung

Wikinger mit künstlich modifizierten Zähnen wurden zuvor in den südöstlichen Teilen Skandinaviens und in England dokumentiert. Im Rahmen eines Projektes, das sich mit dem Leben im Mälaren-Tal in Schweden während des Zeitraumes 750–1150 n. Chr. befasst, wurden neue Fälle von modifizierten Zähnen des Oberkiefers beobachtet. Es wurde die Hypothese überprüft, dass diese Praxis ausschließlich mit erwachsenen Männern aus der Wikingerzeit in Verbindung gebracht werden kann. Die neuen Fälle zeigten, dass sich diese Sitte wahrscheinlich bereits in der Mitte des 8. Jh. n. Chr. unter Einbeziehung der Proto-Stadt Birka in den Osten Zentralschwedens ausbreitete. Weiterhin zeigen Fälle aus Sigtuna, dass diese Praxis nicht vor dem Anfang des 12. Jh. endete. Die Mikroanalyse mit einem Rasterelektronenmikroskop zeigte den heterogenen Charakter der Modifikationen. Die betroffenen Individuen waren, in Übereinstimmung mit den bereits zuvor publizierten Fällen, stets erwachsene Männer. Einige dieser Männer wiesen Waffen und Spuren von Gewalthandlungen auf. Die Fälle von Sigtuna stammen zudem von Gräberfeldern mit einer möglichen Verbindung zu niedrigeren sozialen Schichten. Allerdings deuten Unterschiede in den archäologischen Kontexten und in den Charakteristika der Modifikationen auf zeitliche und räumliche Unterschiede in der sozialen Bedeutung hin. Translation by Heiner Schwarzberg.

Keywords

teethdental modificationskeletonsVikingmenSwedenDenmarkdentsmodification dentairesquelettesVikinghommesSuèdeDanemarkZähneZahnmodifikationenSkeletteWikingerMännerSchwedenDänemark
Type
Articles
Information
European Journal of Archaeology , Volume 17 , Issue 1 , 2014 , pp. 45 - 59
Copyright
Copyright © European Association of Archaeologists 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahlström Arcini, C. 2011. The Viking's Grim Grin. Visby: Fornsalens förlag.Google Scholar
Alt, K.W. & Pichler, S.L. 1998. Artificial Modifications of Human Teeth. In: Alt, K.W., Rösing, F.W. & Teschler-Nicola, M., eds. Dental Anthropology: Fundamentals, Limits, and Prospects. New York: Springer, pp. 387–415.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anttila, K. 1987. Osteologisk analys av skeletten från Kv Nunnan, Sigtuna kommun, Uppland. Unpublished report at Sigtuna museum.Google Scholar
Arbman, H. 1943. Birka. Die Gräber. Stockholm: Kungliga Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitetsakademien.Google Scholar
Arcini, C. 2005. The Vikings Bare their Filed Teeth. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 128 (4): 727–33.Google Scholar
Arcini, C., Jacsson, B. & Helgesson, B. 1991. Vikingatida hantverkare med slitspår på tänderna. Populär arkeologi, 9: 19–21.Google Scholar
Bass, W.M. 1987. Human Osteology: A Laboratory and Field Manual of the Human Skeleton. Columbia: Missouri Archaeological Society.Google Scholar
Bennike, P. & Alexandersen, V. 2003. Dental Modification in the Past. In: Iregren, E. & Larsson, L., eds. A Tooth for a Tooth. Report Series No. 87. Lund: University of Lund, pp. 85–100.Google Scholar
Brace, C.L. 1975. Comment on Wallace (1975). Current Anthropology, 16: 396–7.Google Scholar
Bronk Ramsey, C. 2005. OxCal v.3.10. [online]. [accessed February 2009] Available at: <http://c14.arch.ox.ac.uk/embed.php?File=oxcal.html>>Google Scholar
Bronk Ramsey, C. 2013. OxCal 4.2. [online]. [accessed August 2013] Available at: <https://c14.arch.ox.ac.uk/oxcal/OxCal.html>>Google Scholar
Brooks, S.T. & Suchey, J.M. 1990. Skeletal Age Determination Based on the Os Pubis: A Comparison of the Acsádi-Nemeskéri and Suchey-Brooks Methods. Human Evolution, 5 (3): 227–38.Google Scholar
Brothwell, D.R. 1981. Digging Up Bones. New York: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Bruzek, J. 2002. A Method for Visual Determination of Sex, Using the Human Hip Bone. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 117 (2): 157–68.Google Scholar
Buikstra, J.E. & Ubelaker, D.H. 1994. Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains. Research Series No. 44. Fayetteville: Arkansas Archaeological Survey.Google Scholar
Einerstam, B. & Thålin, H. 1946. Torget i Slite- ett vikingatidsgravfält. Gotländskt Arkiv, 1964: 101–11.Google Scholar
Hemmendorff, O. 1979. Fornlämningarna 32–34, Grimsta, Fresta sn, Uppland. Riksantikvarie ämbetet, UV-rapport 1979: 35. Stockholm: Riksantikvarieämbetet.Google Scholar
Hemmendorff, O. 1984. Människooffer. Ett inslag i järnålderns gravritualer, belyst av ett fynd i Bollstanäs, Uppland. Fornvännen, 79: 4–12.Google Scholar
Holmquist Olausson, L. 1990. ‘Älgmannen’ från Birka. Presentation av en nyligen undersökt krigargrav med människooffer. Fornvännen, 85: 175–82.Google Scholar
Hyenstrand, Å. 1974. Centralbygd – Randbygd. Acta Universitatis Stockholmensis. Studies in North-European Archaeology 5. Stockholm: Stockholm University.Google Scholar
Kennedy, M. 2011. Incisor Raiding: Viking Marauders Had Patterns Filed into Their Teeth. The Guardian [online] (4 July 2011) [accessed 20 February 2012]. Available at: <http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/jul/04/teeth-viking-warriors-dorset-grave>>Google Scholar
Kjellström, A. 2005. The Urban Farmer. Osteoarchaeological Analysis of Skeletons From Medieval Sigtuna Interpreted in a Socioeconomic Perspective. , Stockholm University.Google Scholar
Kjellström, A., Storå, J., Possnert, G. & Linderholm, A. 2009. Dietary Patterns and Social Structures in Medieval Sigtuna, Sweden as Reflected in Stable Isotope Values in Human Skeletal Remains. Journal of Archaeological Science, 36 (12): 2689–99.Google Scholar
Lovejoy, C.O., Meindl, R.S., Pryzbeck, T.R. & Mensforth, R.P. 1985. Chronological Metamorphosis of the Auricular Surface of the Ilium: A New Method for the Determination of Age at Death. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 68 (1): 15–28.Google Scholar
Meindl, R.S. & Lovejoy, C.O. 1985. Ectocranial Suture Closure: A Revised Method for the Determination of Skeletal Age at Death Based on the Lateral-Anterior Sutures. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 68 (1): 57–66.Google Scholar
Milner, G.R. & Larsen, C.S. 1991. Teeth as Artefacts of Human Behavior: Intentional Mutilation and Accidental Modification. In: Kelly, M.A. & Larsen, C.S., eds. Advances in Dental Anthropology. New York: Willey Liss, pp. 357–78.Google Scholar
Montagua, A. 2006. Mutilated Teeth. An Analysis of Eleven Vikings from Slite Square, Gotland. Unpublished MA dissertation, Stockholm University.Google Scholar
Mower, J.P. 1999. Deliberate Ante-Mortem Dental Modification and Its Implications in Archaeology, Ethnography and Anthropology. Papers from the Institute of Archaeology, 10: 37–53.Google Scholar
Oxford Archaeology 2012. Project: Uncovering a Viking Mass Burial, Ridgeway Hill, Dorset. [online] [accessed 21 February 2012]. Available at: <http://www.oxfordarchaeology.com/case-studies/33-burial-archaeology/108>>Google Scholar
Pedersen, P.O. 1955. Eine besondere Form der Abnutzung von Eskimo zähnen aus Alaska. Deutsche Zahnarztliche Zeitschrift, 10: 41–6.Google Scholar
Pedersen, P.O. 1979. The Dentition of King Christian the Third. Ossa, 6: 229–41.Google Scholar
Phenice, T. 1969. A Newly Developed Visual Method of Sexing the Os Pubis. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 30 (2): 297–301.Google Scholar
Plessas, A. & Pepelassi, E. 2012. Dental and Periodontal Complications of Lip and Tongue Piercing: Prevalence and Influencing Factors. Australian Dental Journal, 57 (1): 71–8.Google Scholar
Reimer, P.J., Baillie, M.G.L., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Beck, J.W., Blackwell, P.G., Buck, C.E., Burr, G.S., Cutler, K.B., Damon, P.E., Edwards, R.L., Fairbanks, R.G., Friedrich, M., Guilderson, T.P., Herring, C., Hughen, K.A., Kromer, B., McCormac, F.G., Manning, S.W., Ramsey, C.B., Reimer, P.J., Reimer, R.W., Remmele, S., Southon, J.R., Stuiver, M., Talamo, S., Taylor, F.W., van der Plicht, J. & Weyhenmeyer, C.E. 2004. IntCal04 Terrestrial Radiocarbon Age Calibration, 0–26 cal kyr BP. Radiocarbon, 46 (3): 1029–58.Google Scholar
Reimer, P.J., Baillie, M.G.L., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Beck, J.W., Blackwell, P.G., Bronk Ramsey, C., Buck, C.E., Burr, G.S., Edwards, R.L., Friedrich, M., Grootes, P.M., Guilderson, T.P., Hajdas, I., Heaton, T.J., Hogg, A.G., Hughen, K.A., Kaiser, K.F., Kromer, B., McCormac, G., Manning, S., Reimer, R.W., Richards, D.A., Southon, J.R., Talamo, S., Turney, C.S.M., van der Plicht, J. & Weyhenmeyer, C.E. 2009. IntCal09 and Marine09 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves, 0–50,000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon, 51 (4): 1111–50.Google Scholar
Romero, J. 1970. Dental Mutilation, Trephination and Cranial Deformation. In: Stewart, T., ed. The Handbook of Middle American Indians, Austin: University of Texas Press, vol. 9, pp. 50–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roslund, M. 2009. Transcending Borders—Social Identity as a Factor in the Middle Ages and in Medieval Archaeology. In: Engberg, N., Nørgaard Jørgensen, A., Kieffer-Olsen, J., Madsen, P. & Radtke, C., eds. Archaeology of Medieval Towns in the Baltic and North Sea. Kopenhagen: The National Museum of Denmark, pp. 181–90.Google Scholar
Roslund, M. 2010. Västanfläkt eller stadig vind? Kontinentala och insulära inslag i Sigtunas tidiga medeltid. In: Edberg, R. & Wikström, A., eds. Situne Dei. Årsskrift för Sigtunaforskning utgiven av Sigtuna Museum. Sigtuna: Sigtuna Museum, pp. 43–52.Google Scholar
Roslund, M. 2011. Muslimskt Medelhav vid Mälaren. Spår av islamisk handel i det förmoderna Sverige. In: Andrén, A., ed. Förmodern globalitet: Essäer om rörelse, möten och fjärran ting under 10 000 år. Lund: Nordic Academic Press, pp. 159–77.Google Scholar
Selling, D. 1940. Svenska spelbräden från vikingatid. Fornvännen, 35: 134–44.Google Scholar
Tesch, S. 2008. Laddade stenar. In: Wikström, A., ed. På väg mot Paradiset. Meddelanden och rapporter från Sigtuna Museum nr 33. Sigtuna: Sigtuna museum, pp. 144–50.Google Scholar
Vretemark, M. & Axelsson, T. 2008. The Varnhem Archaeological Research Project. Viking and Medieval Scandinavia, 4: 209–19.Google Scholar
Vukovic, A., Bajsman, A., Zukic, S. & Secic, S. 2009. Cosmetic Dentistry in Ancient Times: A Short Review. Bulletin of the International Association for Paleodontology, 3: 9–13.Google Scholar
Wikström, A. 2009. Up_Sigtuna_Nunnan_1985, 1987 och 1988, Rapportsammanställningar, Sigtuna: Sigtuna museum [online]. (9 February 2009) [accessed 10 April 2013]. Available at: <http://www.sigtunamuseum.se>Google Scholar
Wikström, A. & Kjellström, A. 2009. En tidigkristen gravgård vid Götes mack, Sigtuna 2008. Meddelanden och Rapporter från Sigtuna museum nr. 40. Sigtuna: Sigtuna museer.Google Scholar