Streaming Tips So other than the color of the eyes, lets look at which other eye characteristics are unique or interesting in the Scandinavian region. Winter, Get in touch with your inner Scandinavian. Beards and mustaches were very common in Vikings according to archeological findings and written records. The distinguishing physical characteristics of Polish people are their hair colors of dark ash-blond and medium to dark brown, and their height which ranges from 64.96 to 65.75 inches. Is History ChannelsVikingsworth watching? Food Consequently, people wanted to hide their ethnic heritage and had traditionally inherited blue eyes. Archeological evidence on display on the Viking Museum of Oslo shows some very large Norsemen that are believed to have weighed around 130-140 kilograms, which amounts to 287-309 pounds. Popular Post Quiz 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. Peter Frost also supports this in his study titled European hair and eye color; finding that at least 60% of Scandinavian people have a light head of hair, and at least 50% have light eyes. Also, many Swedes have light hair, but its not always blondesome may have light brown hair. soc.culture.nordic. 1776-1839- Pehr Henrick Ling, Swedish physiologist who helped develop physical therapy and Swedish massages and is known as the grandfather of Swedish massages and Physical therapy. This percentage is exceptionally high because light eyes generally are not dominant in most countries outside of Scandinavia. Ill also cover the key takeaways below if youd rather keep going. The genetic origin of the Smi people is complex and difficult to trace. They originated from Europe but spoke a Uralic language among themselves. So the clich blue-eyed and blonde Nordic stereotype seems to hold true then, but where do these physical traits come from and why do they still seem to have a strong presence in the Nordics? History [8] English Julku, Kysti. Their eyes are light in many cases, including blue and green. And despite my own hesitations, Short also believes that when the sagas describe feats of extraordinary strength they may not entirely be heroic exaggeration. Swedish people often look pale due to a lack of melanin. Introversion also associated with Scandinavian Personality Traits can also mean introspection which is always a good trait. Norse Many of the names of rivers and lakes have no linguistic roots. It seems the research project is well-funded too (https://kaw.wallenberg.org/forskning/atlas-med-forhistoriskt-dna-ger-ny-bild-av-manniskans-ursprung), so they seem to have the best tools available to analyze this type of scientific data. English Their eyes are blue and their hair is blond, which is the most common color in Scandinavia. Ive written an analysis of The Last Kingdom if you want to find out if its worth watching or not. Korean people often have very round faces. The Swedish and Danish samples were similar with regard to age distribution, sample size, dental conditions and radiographic procedures. [16]. Ovmar has even been accused of having undergone plastic surgery due to her high cheekbones, a claim she rebuffs by simply pointing to her Sami background (which seems plausible judging by the picture below to the left). As weve established, most Nordic people today have brightly colored eyes, with some areas reaching up to 80% of the population (P. Frost 2006). The Swedish have a blue eye and are taller than their Nordic neighbors. 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? Though they speak a Finno-Ugric language, they are genetically distinct from other Finno-Ugric and Indo-European people. I have never seen more perfect physical specimens, tall as date palms, blonde and ruddy; they wear neither tunics nor caftans, but the men wear a garment which covers one side of the body and leaves a hand free. Enjoy your visit! The Swedish also tend to be very athletic. Blonde hair. 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. [10] The Smi, as well of the Finns, are a very heterogeneous group of people who display a wide range of physical features. DNA analysis from specimens from this period has shown people with dark hair, a mix of light and dark skin, and most likely blue eyeswhich sounds like a lot of modern-day Scandinavians I know. Thus, tourists are sure to see plenty of light-haired people if they visit Sweden! Especially since Vikings have been documented to take good care of their hair and appearance in general, and since there are some similar haircuts where the sides and back are shaved. I wrote an article describinghow Nordic people actually look, with all the data you need to get a good picture of exactly how blond, blue-eyed, tall and strong Scandinavians are on average today. Read more about that in my article about Viking Looks! Other things we can read about in the sagas and see on artifacts left behind for us to marvel at. Stockholm And since many Swedes lack this melanin, their eyes take on different light colors. Only approximately 17% of the worlds population has blue eyes, a stark contrast with Swedens 78% [3]. Some Swedes have dark hair, but its more common for them to have lighter hair. WebSwedish people often look pale due to a lack of melanin. Get some Scandi spirit in your home with our premium museum-quality prints sent right to your doorstep with free shipping worldwide. It should also be added that the countries around the Dinaric Alps in Western Balkans would place in the top if S.E. Read Article Now. Thanks Jonna for your comment, and Im happy to hear you enjoyed the article! [4] Webiraq cigarettes brands. The study further reinforces this by showing how the Viking population was very diverse compared to neighboring cultures and peoples, especially in popular trade spots such as Gotland, land, and Zealand. Being a little stoic and reserved can actually serve you well in many career fields. Modern Swedes are closely related to hunter-gatherers of the Pitted Ware culture. Did Vikings Wear Eyeliner and Other Makeup? How Nordics and Scandinavians see each other, an article where I go into detail about Viking traits and looks, which languages each Nordic nationality actually uses when communicating with fellow Nordics, how Vikings actually looked (how big they were, how they wore their hair, where they came from, their hair and eye color, etc. Among the Sami people (hailing from Northern Scandinavia), high cheekbones are very common. I then categorized the colors as either light or dark: In other words, 85% of my friends and family in southern Scandinavia have light hair (ranging from blonde to light brown), and 75% have light eyes (blue, green, hazel, or grey). Sweden is a beautiful country that attracts many tourists and ex-pats each year. They built powerful cultures and countries. Those with these facial features have high cheekbones, but they are not considered attractive. As a result, much of the Swedish population has similar light features. 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. That said, beards are currently fairly popular in the Nordics, as they were during the Viking Age (when insulting another mans beard could lead to death). Its worth keeping in mind that being a Viking was more of a profession than ethnicity, and seeing as that profession included raiding, pillaging and striking fear into the minds of their enemies, it makes sense that these folks were a bit larger and stronger on average. Besides their high noses, they have high cheekbones. After all, there could be more reasons Ibn Fadlan described the group of Rus he encountered on the river Volga as tattooed from top to toe, as he mightve wanted them to appear more exotic and barbaric to the Muslim world. Both groups speak a Finno-Ugric language that causes them to be singled out among their Indo-European neighbors and associated historically with each other. The Finns had always been thought of as the more dominant group but now new theories claiming that it was the Finns who got their language from the Smi have started to arise. They also were great innovators. There is still a large amount on new information to be uncovered about the Smis very ancient past. Check it out if youre curious! 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. This still leaves the crucial question that asks how and when did the Finns and the Smi begin speaking related languages in the first place? This is one of the bigger controversies in Scandinavian history. This is why they are so popular amongst men. Read Article Now. [2] Naturally, I wanted to see if this data held up based on my own experience, so I gathered all the hair and eye colors of 103 family members and friends who currently live in or around Malm, Sweden (one of the more culturally diverse cities in Sweden I should add). Its of course enough to at least give a slight chance for the stereotypical metal Viking with tribal tattoos to actually be a thing, especially to fans of shows like Vikings and The Last Kingdom. Scandinavians as a whole are part of a group of ethnicities (along with Finns, English, Irish, Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Polish, Hungarians, and Russians) where the Epicanthic fold is occurring more than in other European populations, but still at a much lower frequency than for example Asian ethnicities. 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