The secret of “modified” bodies; Women with elongated skulls and men with grooved teeth
Research in recent years has led to the discovery of evidence of permanent body modification in the Viking Age.
According to Faradid, the latest research related to deliberate body shape change in ancient times is the research conducted on the skulls of three Viking Age women from Gatland Island in the Baltic Sea. The research results showed that these three women had their skulls “pulled”. This discovery has revealed a fascinating tradition of “body modification” among the Norse and Vikings.
The study, co-authored by Matthias Toplak and Lucas Kirk and published in the journal Current Swedish Archaeology, identified around 130 individuals (mostly men) with horizontal grooves carved into their teeth, an astonishing number of them in Gotland.
Although there have been many interpretations of these changes in the teeth (from a sign of slavery to a symbol of the chosen warriors), upon closer examination, researchers speculated that these may have been signs of identity in a specific group of traders.
Deliberate cranial modifications since the Viking Age have only been identified in three women from Gatland, dating back to the late 11th century. All three women were buried in different locations across Gatland. The changes in the skull have given them a unique and remarkable appearance and stretched their heads.
More details have been identified in two cases of these women: one woman died at the age of 25-30 and the other at the age of 55-60.
These cranial modifications, unlike dental modifications, appear to be alien to Scandinavian Viking culture. Finds from the 9th to the 11th century AD in Eastern Europe suggest that they may have originated there.
The presence of these women with modified skulls raises the question of how the society of Gatland related to this form of foreign identity and reinterpreted it; A tradition that was still unknown when it arrived in Scandinavia.
The decorated graves of these women, dressed in jewelry and other adornments typical of Gatlandian women's clothing, show that they were accepted and integrated into the local community. While the religious affiliations of these women remain unknown, researchers believe they were buried in a Christian context.
