Nordic Traits Their cheekbones are high and their noses are thin. He describes them this way: I have seen the Rus as they came on their merchant journeys and encamped by the Volga. Combining all of these sources (archaeological evidence, DNA findings, and written texts) gives us a fuller picture of how Viking Age hairstyles mightve looked, does show some interesting findings. http://virtual.finland.fi/finfo/english/where_do.html (accessed February 26, 2005). They also often have a straight nose but a hump at the noses bridge. Germanic Western Norway has almost as many redheads as the British isles (who win the red hair race by a mile), whereas southern and northern Sweden barely has any. As recently as 1999, the Smi had not yet been placed on the language and gene map of Europe. There are no scientific studies suggesting Scandinavians, or any other people for that matter, are considered more attractive than others. They also have a rather rounded face and very delicate facial features. Science Where do Finns Come From?. Virtual Finland. The sample size and dental conditions were similar in both studies. So lets see what we know about what the Vikings actually looked like, based on what weve established through DNA studies, archeological findings, and documented history. Gods & Goddesses Average Height in the Nordics (Data & Graphs), The average height of both males and females in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland) are all among the tallest 20 countries in the world (or top 10%), but why is that? Scandinavian, Viking & Germanic Links Explained (With Maps). In Norse mythology, the valkyries were responsible for bringing half the warriors who have fallen in battle to Valhalla, while the other half go to another famous Viking female figure; Freya, the goddess of fertility, love, beauty, and war. This mystery still remains to this day and may possibly never be uncovered, but one must not forget how historically wrong science had been about the history of the Smi. Although light features are standard, some swedes have darker hair and eyes. Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a5192d68ae09dbbbee634a67fbff4656" );document.getElementById("j39e62affa").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It is thought that at one point in time that this group may have ranged as far as northern Germany up through Scandinavia. This means Scandinavian hair mostly fall into these categories: So Scandinavian hair color is mostly light in character, but what types of characteristics does Scandi hair have? These features make them stand out among their Nordic neighbours. http://virtual.finland.fi/finfo/english/where_do.html, http://www.gnxp.com/MT2/archives/000245.html, http://virtual.finland.fi/finfo/english/geeneng.html, http://www.lysator.liu.se/nordic/scn/faq23.html. Vikings were often described and depicted with well-groomed and sometimes elaborate facial hair, ranging from full and long beards to more practical Viking-style mutton chops and mustaches. 1. Some of the familiar Scandinavian personality traits include: reticence, a highly skeptical personality, general mistrust of strangers, cautious behavior, somewhat reserved personality and a lack of empathy. Viking, Norse, or Scandinavians from the Viking Agewhats the correct term? Mythology That said, it is assumed that having long hair was generally seen as more important the higher up on the social ladder one was, with the jarls having long and elaborate hairstyles, while they had their thralls (slaves, who made up around 20-30% of the population) cut their hair short. A study comparing the facial profile of young adult Swedes and Danes found that the Scandinavians have slightly higher cheekbones than the Danish population. The recent rise of medieval fantasy and Viking-themed TV series (with the likes of Vikings, The Last Kingdom, and Game of Thrones) has spawned some Viking looks that are equally iconic as they are historically questionable. Outside extreme muscle competitions, the fact that Scandinavians are among the tallest people in the world suggests some additional muscle mass along with the extra height. WebIn research made by M. Ingman and U. Gyllensten in 2006 is a slightly different setting shown: Norwegian Sami belongs to U5b as well as U5b1b1 to 56.8%, Finnish Sami with Swedish people often look pale due to a lack of melanin. Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest Nordic resources, insights, tips, hidden gems, and much more. Keep reading to learn more! It makes sense that the Smi should be closely tied to the Finns, if at one time they were the same group, even if this did take place many thousands of years ago. Whether these traits stem from a diverse pre-bronze age population, geographical conditions, or the modern diet of the region as a whole is hard to say, but they all likely played some part at least. We can see this more clearly in modern facial reconstructions produced by academics around the world based on skeletal and DNA analysis. Introversion also associated with Scandinavian Personality Traits can also mean introspection which is always a good trait. We exists to inform people about the people, culture, and history of Northern Europe. WebSwedish people often look pale due to a lack of melanin. Popular Post Sweden is a beautiful country that attracts many tourists and ex-pats each year. (Carpelan), [4] Though they speak a Finno-Ugric language, they are genetically distinct from other Finno-Ugric and Indo-European people. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification. Are Epicanthic folds common in Scandinavia? Id say typical scandinavian face is an upturned nose, pale skin, And despite my own hesitations, Short also believes that when the sagas describe feats of extraordinary strength they may not entirely be heroic exaggeration. (http://members.tripod.com/SAMI_SIIDA/genetic.html). How do the modern-day Scandinavians compare to their ancestors? You can also add to the list being introverted, confident and very focused. (Julku 191), [13] This is assuming Viking Age Scandinavians had a similar genetical makeup for certain markers related to beard growth, which the same study supports, mentioning that Vikings largely had similar genetic markers as modern-day Scandis when it comes to hair growth. Other famous Scandinavians with high cheekbones include Fredrik Ljungberg (pictured below to the right), Mads Mikkelsen, Tim Avicii Berg, and Viggo Mortensen. Since up to 78% of the Swedish population has blue eyes, its easy to see that blue is the dominant color, even if it is technically a recessive gene! I do believe that there is a typically Swedish face type you rarely see elsewhere. The main feature are large blue eyes that are unusually close to Their eyes are light in many cases, including blue and green. A genetic distinctness even exists within the heterogeneous Smi, which leads some to believe that perhaps being classified as a Smi should be a grouping based on living a certain way of life rather than having a certain genetic component. 2. So with a large amount of growing evidence, it seems that the Smi came from somewhere much closer to their current home. The Swedish also tend to be very athletic. Though it is likelier that it was used for the cosmetic effect since most Vikings had light hair, and it was likely seen as a sought-after trait for some. The idea that geographical location and genetics plays a huge role in how personality develops. This article will discuss what Swedish people look like in more detail. He left Sweden at 19 to explore the world, and stayed abroad for almost 8 yearsduring which he backpacked, worked every job there was, earned a degree from UC Berkeley, and met the future mother of his children. Oslo Recommendations WebTwo Scandinavian studies of craniofacial morphology (Ingerslev & Solow 1975, Sarns & Solow 1980) provided an opportunity to compare the facial profile in young adult Swedes and Danes. According to a 2020 study published in The Lancet, Danes are the 4th tallest people in the world, followed by the Icelandic in 6th, the Swedes in 12th, Norwegians in 13th, and finally the Finns as 17th tallest people in the world. For example, in Smiland and throughout Scandinavia, there still exists an obvious residue of an even more ancient unknown language than Uralic in the region. Other things we can read about in the sagas and see on artifacts left behind for us to marvel at. Finland For example, many female skeletons from Viking graves generally had stronger jawlines than modern Scandinavian women, while many men generally had slimmer faces that the Scandinavian men of today. This is according to genetic research by Medland et al. Lets dig a little deeper and look at what we know about the first Scandinavians: The first inhabitants of the Scandinavian peninsula came from the south with darker skin and blue eyes (known as Western Hunter-Gatherers), later joined by migrants from the east (known as Eastern Hunter-Gatherers) who had lighter skin but darker eyes.During the following centuries, these two hunter-gatherer groups intermingled and produced one of the most diverse populations of the stone age, with a population at the time of about 10 000 to 20 000 in all of Scandinavia. WebThe Nordic head is often strikingly narrow about the temples, as though it were pressed in here from both sides. How Did Vikings Actually Look? The colors of their eyes are typically light and are normally gray, brown or a mixture of both. Read More About Modern-Day Nordic Traits. Norway Their eye color is correlated with their perceived attractiveness. 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