Many Scandinavians of the Viking era probably showed their rude scars when attacking and looting, but they were probably doing more about an ear infection or gum disease. That is according to new research, in which high -tech images revealed that many Vikings may have suffered persistent and painful diseases in their heads.
In 2005, archaeologists excavated the remains of more than 300 Vikings in the city of Varnhem. The remains date from the 10th and XIIII centuries make the site one of the first Christian settlements in Sweden (while Northman You may think that the Vikings were pagan, almost everyone had converted to Christianity in the middle of the fourth century).
To try to learn more about the conditions in which these people lived, archaeologists selected 15 skulls from individuals who died between the ages of 20 and 60. Then they performed computerized scans, using multiple radiographs to capture detailed images of the internal structures. A team of two radiologists and a dentist examined the images.
“There was a lot to look at. We found many signs of illness in these individuals, ”said Carolina Bertilsson, a dentist and assistant researcher at the University of Gothenburg, who directed the study, in a statement. “Exactly why we don’t know. While we cannot study the damage to the soft tissue because it is no longer there, we can see the traces that remain in the skeletal structures. “
What they found sounds perfectly infernal. Like scientists detailed In the newspaper Open BDJOf the 15 skulls, 12 showed signs of periapical lesions, a type of bacterial infection at the root of a tooth. Ten had some form of periodontal disease, including bone defects, bone loss or furcation affectation, such a serious infection that causes a loss of mass in the jaw where the roots are found. Other problems encountered in multiple skulls included bones of poorly cured or malformed jaw and a Viking skull showed signs of hardened tissue near the temporal bone, which may indicate an ear infection that spreads.
Surprisingly, since the toothpaste was not invented until hundreds of years later, only six of the Vikings studied were missing teeth before dying.
The study offers a small look how to have been everyday life for Vikings 1,000 years ago, a moment without modern medications to relieve pain, antibiotics or dental care. Infections “could stay for a long time,” said Bertilsson.
Bertilsson said it expects other scientists to use the computerized tomography technique, which does not damage or degrade human remains, in their own research.
“Many of today’s archaeological methods are invasive, with the need to eliminate bone or other tissue for analysis,” he said. “In this way, we can keep the remains completely intact but still extract a lot of information.”
Previous investigations showed that some Vikings paid attention to their teeth, presented them to the points and filled them with pigment. Cool? Yes, definitely. Something that an oral hygienist would recommend? No, probably not.
#Health #Dental #Viking #nightmare #shows #skull #analysis
