Many Scandinavians from the Viking era probably showed their bahase scars of power and robbery, but they probably were more involved in ear infection or gum disease. According to new research, in which the high -tech picture revealed that many Viking may have suffered from lasting, painful diseases in their heads.
In 2005, archaeologists dug over over 300 Vikings in the city of Varnhem. Remains dated from the 10th and 12th centuries, making the place one of the earliest Christian settlements in Sweden (while Northman You may believe that the Vikings are pagan, almost everyone had Converted to Christianity to the middle of the eleventh century).
In order to try to find out more about the conditions in which these people lived, archaeologists chose 15 skulls from individuals who died at the age of 20 to 60. They then performed CT scanning, using more X -ray rays to record detailed images of internal structures. A team of two radiologists and a dentist then examined the pictures.
“There was a lot to look at. We found many signs of illnesses in these individuals,” said Carolina Bertisson, dental and assistant researcher at the University of Genenburg, who conducted a studio, UA statement. “Exactly why we don’t know. Although we cannot study the damage in soft tissue because it is gone, we can see the traces left in skeletal structures. “
What they found, sounds perfectly hellish. As scientists detailed in the magazine BDJ OpenOf the 15 skulls, 12 showed signs of periapical lesions – a type of bacterial infection at the root of the tooth. Ten had some form of periodontal disease, including bone damage, bone loss, or involvement in the furcation, so serious infection that it causes loss of mass in the bone of the jaw in which the roots meet. Other questions in multiple skulls included poorly cured or irregular bones of the jaw, and one viking skull showed signs of solid tissue near the temporal bone, which may indicate an infection of the ear -spread ear.
Surprisingly, given that toothpaste was not invented only hundreds of years later, only six of the Vikings were labeled teeth before they died.
The study offers a small insight into what everyday life was before Viking 1000 years ago, a time without a modern pain to relieve pain, antibiotics or dental care. “Infections” could stay long, “Bertinson said.
Bertindsson said she hoped that other scientists would use the CT scan technique, which in her own research does not harm or degrade human remains.
“Very today’s archeological methods are invasive, with the need to remove bone or other tissue for analysis,” she said. “In this way, the remains can be kept completely intact, but they still pull out a lot of information.”
Previous research showed that some Vikingi paid attention to the teeth, Subject to them points and filling them with pigment. Cool? Yes, definitely. Something that would an oral hygiene recommend? No, probably not.