Here's What Vikings Really Looked Like

February 25, 2008

"Vikings have more fun" could have been a horse cart bumper sticker during the Viking Age from 750-1050 A.D. Swedish archaeologist Annika Larsson has just determined that the intrepid Norse wore vivid colors, flowing silk ribbons and glittering bits of mirror, and that their lifestyle probably matched this more free spirited look. You have to put your mindset back 1,000 years to imagine what impact the styles had on conservative Medieval folks who later forbid such clothing. Even archaeologists were aghast when they saw women's clothing clasps in graves. "Traditionally (the placement of the clasps) has been explained by the clasps having fallen down as the corpse rotted. That sounds like a prudish interpretation, said Annika Larsson, who took the below photos of the human "Viking models."


Now maybe it's just me, but that fellow's garb reminds me of an Icelandic horse, which isn't a bad thing at all.

Animals were very integrated into Viking life, with archaeological remains showing that typical livestock animals were raised then, such as goats, sheep and pigs. We also have the Vikings to thank for developing, through selective breeding, the Norwegian forest cat

and the Border collie, which many regard as the world's most intelligent breed of dog. Given how cool the Vikings were, the dogs were indeed smart to hang around them. Here's one such canine giving sheep "the eye," an intimidating look to tell them just where to go.