Viking Warriors May Have Carved Grooves in Their Teeth to Showcase Status or Military Rank
Researcher Caroline Arcini from the National Heritage Board of Sweden analyzed 557 skeletons from a large Viking cemetery in Sweden and found that about 10% of the men, with no women included, exhibited horizontal grooves on their upper front teeth.
These marks were deeply etched into the enamel, featuring 2 or 3 meticulously carved grooves. Arcini suggests that these grooves might indicate membership in a particular group of merchants or warriors, or perhaps serve as a testament to their pain tolerance. Most of the men bearing these carvings were quite young, yet showed no clear signs of injury or accompanying artifacts with their skeletons. Therefore, the exact reason for these markings remains a mystery.
This is the first known case of dental modification in Europe, although it was a common practice in the Americas from 800 to 1050 AD. Given that these skeletons date from the same period, it raises the possibility that the Vikings may have adopted this practice during their travels. Arcini hopes that this discovery will shed light on how the tradition of dental modification developed and spread.
