Viking smile reveals vanity among hardened Norse warriors
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This is an undated picture from Caroline Arcini of the Swedish National
Heritage Board, that shows filed and - earlier probably - colored upper
front teeth of a cranium, found in southern Sweden. (AP/Caroline
Arcini/Swedish National Heritage Board)
   Tommy Grandell, Canadian Press
Published: Sunday, February 12, 2006 Article tools
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  Font: * * * * STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) - Viking raids gave Norsemen a
reputation in medieval Europe as bloodthirsty marauders. Recent
archaeological finds show they may also have been vain - caring as much
for the brilliance of their teeth as the bite of their swords.

A study of skeletal remains from 1,000-year-old burial sites in
southern Sweden suggests some Norsemen used iron files to carve grooves
into their teeth, probably to insert colourful decorations,
anthropologist Caroline Arcini said.

She believes the grooves, which she found in the teeth of 10 per cent
of male skeletons but none of the women, were either pure decoration or
meant to show affiliation to a social class or trade group.

Tooth filing was widespread among Indian tribes in America at the time,
but Arcini's discovery is the first indication it was also used among
medieval Europeans.

Although researchers believe the Vikings were the first Europeans to
reach America in the 11th century, Arcini said her discoveries don't
necessarily mean the two cultures exchanged ideas on dentistry.

"It is probably just a coincidence," she said. "Things pop up in
different places in the world without there necessarily having been any
contact."

The Vikings entered recorded history in the late eighth century, when
they set out in their long ships to raid the coasts of northern Europe.
Starting out as minor expeditions by adventurous chieftains, the raids
eventually escalated into full-scale invasions in England and northern
France led by Norwegian and Danish kings and earls.

Swedish Vikings headed east, crossing the Baltic Sea and sailing up the
rivers of Russia and reaching as far as Constantinople.

Arcini's study, first published in the American Journal of Physical
Anthropology, found horizontal grooves across the upper front teeth of
24 men in 557 skeletal remains of men and women at four grave sites.

The grooves, often in pairs or triplets, were too carefully made to be
the result of chance, she said.

Arcini, who works for the Swedish National Heritage Board, said it was
unclear what colours were used to fill the grooves, but it was likely
black or red.

"I think it was rather pretty," she said. "What they had in common was
that they had to laugh pretty hard" for the teeth to be visible because
the grooves were quite high up.

Arcini hopes further studies will reveal where the practice arose and
how it spread.

© The Canadian Press 2006