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'Vikings decorated their teeth'
02/02/2006 10:08 - (SA)
Stockholm - Viking raids gave Norsemen a reputation in Medieval Europe as bloodthirsty marauders. Recent archaeological finds show they may also have been vain - caring as much for the brilliance of their teeth as the bite of their swords.
A study of skeletal remains from 1 000-year-old burial sites in southern Sweden suggests some Norsemen used iron files to carve grooves into their teeth, probably to insert colorful decorations, said anthropologist Caroline Arcini.
She believes the grooves, which she found in teeth of 10% of men, but none of the women, were either pure decoration or meant to show affiliation to a social class or trade group.
Findngs a coincidence
Tooth filing was widespread among Indian tribes in America at the time, but Arcini's discovery is the first indication it was also used among medieval Europeans.
Although researchers believe the Vikings were the first Europeans to reach America in the 11th century, Arcini said her discoveries don't necessarily mean the two cultures exchanged ideas on dentistry.
"It is probably just a coincidence," she said. "Things pop up in different places in the world without there necessarily having been any contact."
The Vikings enter history in the late 8th century, when they set out in longships, raiding the coasts of northern Europe. Starting out as minor expeditions by adventurous chieftains, the raids eventually escalated into full-scale invasions in England and northern France led by Norwegian and Danish kings and earls.
'Pretty teeth'
Swedish Vikings headed east, crossing the Baltic Sea and sailing up the rivers of Russia and reaching as far as Constantinople.
Arcini's study, first published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology last year, found 24 men out of 557 skeletal remains of men and women from four grave sites had horizontal grooves across the upper front teeth, often in pairs or triplets - too carefully made to be the result of chance.
Arcini, who works for the Swedish National Heritage Board, said it was unclear what colours were used to fill the grooves, but that it was likely black or red.
"I think it was rather pretty," she said. "What they had in common was that they had to laugh pretty hard" for the teeth to be visible because the grooves were quite high up.
Arcini hopes that further studies will reveal where the practice arose and how it spread.
- AP
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