Archaeologists find 19 injuries in 12 people buried in Iron and Viking Age Scandinavia

PC: Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory Archaeologists have identified evidence of traumatic injuries in 12 people whose remains were deposited in houses, pits, wells, and postholes across Iron and Viking Age Scandinavia. The individuals lived between approximately 500 BCE and 1050 CE, and their skeletal remains showed 19 injuries sustained before or around the time of death.According to research published in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory titled ‘Broken bodies in Domestic Spaces: Direct and Structural Violence in an Atypical Mortuary Dataset from Iron and Viking Age Scandinavia’, some people may have faced violence and social vulnerability during life before receiving unusual treatment after death.How did researchers identify signs of violence in ancient Scandinavian remainsThe study examined human remains recovered from domestic settings across southern and central Scandinavia. These included skeletal fragments and well-preserved remains found beneath house floors, in pits, wells, postholes, and other settlement features. The researchers identified 19 traumatic injuries among 12 individuals from a wider dataset containing remains of an estimated 192 peopl...