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The remains of a powerful Viking warrior were found to be female after researchers conducted a DNA test.
Vikings were ancient traders, explorers, and warriors who lived around the year 800. They mostly occupied Northern Europe, including Sweden where the remains of the warrior were found.
To outsiders, Vikings were comparable to pirates. Both were seafarers who traded goods. Vikings were also seen as savages who occasionally attacked places for reasons like economics and warfare.
Vikings buried their dead on a boat or with horses as the dead’s means of transportation to the next world.
The Viking warrior’s remains were excavated in the 1800s and were dated to be from the mid-10th century. The grave contained the skeleton, warrior weapons and equipment, and two horses. There was also a game board, used by powerful military leaders to strategize and give orders to other warriors, on the skeleton’s lap.
Because of the weapons and equipment, researchers had assumed that the skeleton was male. However, a scientist from Stockholm University noticed the feminine cheekbones and hip bones of the skeleton. After a DNA test, it was confirmed that the skeleton was female.
Scientists have been able to conduct DNA testing on ancient debris since 2003. In fact, they have discovered that DNA can survive even after 6.8 million years. Nonetheless, the oldest DNA recorded, which was found under Greenland ice, was only around 800,000 years old.
DNA from ancient bones and artifacts is not easy to analyze. It can be contaminated by the DNA of the excavators. Furthermore, exposure to heat, water, and sunlight can degrade DNA.