Posted on 05/28/2008 6:46:59 AM PDT by Red Badger
Although “Viking” literally means “pirate,” recent research has indicated that the Vikings were also traders to the fishmongers of Europe. Stereotypically, these Norsemen are usually pictured wearing a horned helmet but in a new study published in the journal PLoS ONE this week, Jørgen Dissing and colleagues from the University of Copenhagen, investigated what went under the helmet; the scientists were able to extract authentic DNA from ancient Viking skeletons, avoiding many of the problems of contamination faced by past researchers.
Analysis of DNA from the remains of ancient humans provides valuable insights into such important questions as the origin of genetic diseases, migration patterns of our forefathers and tribal and family patterns.
Unfortunately, severe problems connected with the retrieval and analysis of DNA from ancient organisms (like the scarcity of intact molecules) are further aggravated in the case of ancient humans. This is because of the great risk of contamination with abundant DNA from modern humans. Humans, then, are involved at all steps, from excavation to laboratory analyses. This means that many previous results have subsequently been disputed as attributed to the presence of contaminant DNA, and some researchers even claim that it is impossible to obtain reliable results with ancient human DNA.
Using freshly sampled material from ten Viking skeletons from around AD 1,000, from a non-Christian burial site on the Danish island of Funen, Dissing and colleagues showed that it is indeed possible to retrieve authentic DNA from ancient humans.
Wearing protective suits, the researchers removed the teeth from the jaw at the moment the skeletons were unearthed when they had been untouched for 1,000 years. The subsequent laboratory procedures were also carefully controlled in order to avoid contamination.
Analysis of the Viking DNA showed no evidence of contamination with extraneous DNA, and typing of the endogenous DNA gave reproducible results and showed that these individuals were just as diverse as contemporary humans. A reliable retrieval of authentic DNA opens the way for a valuable use of prehistoric human remains to illuminate the genetic history of past and extant populations.
Citation: Citation: Melchior L, Kivisild T, Lynnerup N, Dissing J (2008) Evidence of Authentic DNA from Danish Viking Age Skeletons Untouched by Humans for 1,000 Years. PLoS ONE 3(5): e2214. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002214 ; http://www.plosone.org/doi/pone.0002214
Source: Public Library of Science
Vik-ping!.............
Interesting, but still no word on the great ice ship remains? The search must continue.
“Great Ice Ship”?...........tell me more......
Maybe they can inject some of it into our so-called Republican leaders.
Maybe, this is how????
GGG?
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DNA is just a copy of your physical body’s “blueprint”. Your spiritual makeup is completely up to you.......
Gotta hunch the Writer of that Old Book got this all figured out, needing no help from me or you :-)
As to the “horned helmets” that is a recent invention. Vikings wore domed helmets that would deflect a falling sword. Imagine how it would wrench your neck to have a falling sword impact a horn on your helmet. Stupid.
The Vikings colonized Iceland, Greenland and America (temporarily), the Isle of Man and other north sea islands, as well as Normandy in northern France. The Normans subsequently conquered Southern Italy, England, Sicily, the Crusader Kingdom of Antioch, and twice came within one battle of beating the largest empire of their age, Byzantium.
Pirates is such an understatement and misdirection that I can only express my contempt for the ignorance of the writer. Hopefully they did the Science part better than the History part, but I have my doubts.
FROM WIKI:
Etymology
The word Viking comes from the Old Norse word “vikingr”, lit. “one who came from the fjords”, from “vik”, meaning a bay, creek, fjord or inlet. By the end of the Viking period, the term referred to pirates or robbers operating by sea, known as “vikingr” in West Norse, and was used as a term for sea-born warfare and harrying in the West Norse “viking”. Though mostly used as a general term for pirates there are instances of another use in some of the Icelandic sagas. There some were considered vikings and to be “going on viking” who sailed out to claim fame and fortune for themselves.[3] This could involve seeking the stewardship of kings, trading in foreign parts and raiding. These names were common mainly in Scandinavia itself, however, and many other terms were generally used in the wider world. These included heathens, northmen, Lochlannachs in the Irish tongue, the people from the north, the Danes, Rus’, or simply the foreigners. These terms, however, were used for the Viking peoples as a whole, and thus never accounted for the class distinction between vikings and other Norsemen nor the variety of the Nordic peoples.[4]
“There some were considered vikings and to be “going on viking” who sailed out to claim fame and fortune for themselves.[3] This could involve seeking the stewardship of kings, trading in foreign parts and raiding.”
Many Vikings served as the Imperial guard (Varangian) for Byzantium, including the famous Norwegian King Harald Hardrade (hard to “read”). Although on his return trip to claim the Kingship he did indeed engage in some coast-land raiding, aided by a bit of trickery (tying embers to birds that nested in the roofs of the town to burn it half down, pretending to be dead and wanting a Christian burial and using his casket as a sort of “Trojan Horse”).
“There some were considered vikings and to be “going on viking” who sailed out to claim fame and fortune for themselves.[3] This could involve seeking the stewardship of kings, trading in foreign parts and raiding.”
Many Vikings served as the Imperial guard (Varangian) for Byzantium, including the famous Norwegian King Harald Hardrade (hard to “read”). Although on his return trip to claim the Kingship he did indeed engage in some coast-land raiding, aided by a bit of trickery (tying embers to birds that nested in the roofs of the town to burn it half down, pretending to be dead and wanting a Christian burial and using his casket as a sort of “Trojan Horse”).
They’re digging up my relatives again!
That's right, jealous French women.
Greenbay?...........
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Thanks Red Badger and CholeraJoe. |
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The Viks were a prolific lot. They even contributed to MY DNA!!
:’)
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