Viking Dental Health was a nightmare, new performance for skull analysis

Many Scandinavians from the Viking era may have shown their marks from Badass from rabbit and robbery, but they were probably more about ear infection or gum disease. This is according to new studies in which high -tech images reveal that many Vikings may have suffered from constant, painful painful diseases in their heads.

In 2005, archaeologists excavated the remains of over 300 Vikings in the city of Varnhem. The remains dating between the 10th and 12th centuries, which makes the site one of the most Christian settlements in Sweden (while while while Northern Can you believe that the Vikings were Gentiles, almost all had converted into Christianity Until the mid -eleventh century).

In order to try to learn more about the conditions under which these people lived, archaeologists have chosen 15 skulls of people who died between the ages of 20 and 60. They then perform a CT scan using multiple X -rays to capture detailed images of internal structures. A team of two X -ray and the dentist then examined the images.

“There was a lot to watch. We have found many signs of illness in these individuals, “says Carolina Bertilson, a dentist and assistant researcher at the University of Gothenburg, who led the study, in a statementS “Exactly why we don’t know. Although we cannot examine damage in the soft tissue as it is no longer there, we can see the traces left in the skeletal structures. “

What they found sounded completely hell. As scientists in detail In the magazine Bdj openOf the 15 skulls, 12 showed signs of periapical lesions – a type of bacterial infection in the root of the tooth. Ten had some form of periodontal disease, including bone defects, bone loss, or an involvement of vertebration, infection so severe that it causes loss of mass in the jaw bone where the roots occur. Other problems found in multiple skulls include poorly cured or improperly formed jaws, and a Viking skull shows signs of hardened tissue near the temporal bone, which may indicate an ear infection that spreads.

Surprisingly, given that toothpaste has not been invented hundreds of years later, only six of the Vikings studied lacks teeth before they die.

The study offers a small view of what may have been the everyday life of Vikings 1000 years ago, a time without modern pain to relieve pain, antibiotics or dental care. The infections “could adhere to a long time,” Bertilson said.

Bertilsson has said he hopes other scientists will use the CT scanning technique that does not harm or worsen human remains in their own research.

“Many of today’s archaeological methods are invasive, with the need to remove bone or other tissue for analysis,” she said. “This way we can keep the remains completely intact, but we still retrieve a lot of information.”

Previous studies show that some Vikings have paid attention to their teeth, Submission of points in points And fill them with pigment. Cool? Yes, definitely. Something that would recommend oral hygienist? No, probably not.