The Vikings' ancestors were even more terrifying new gory discoveries suggest

[Judi Lynn]

Recently discovered remains give valuable insight to life in Mesolithic Europe.

Evidence shows the hunter-gatherers suffered repeated blunt force trauma to head.

Neil Murphy By Neil Murphy
February 13, 2018 18:57 GMT

Vikings have a reputation for extreme violence but their pre-historic Scandinavian ancestors may have been even worse, archaeological evidence suggests.

Researchers examining a grave found beneath a Swedish lake have given us a glimpse into the brutal reality of life in Mesolithic Europe. Remains of smashed skulls found at that site show evidence of repeated blunt force trauma, including two that appear to have been mounted on wooden stakes.

The study - recently published in Antiquity by archaeologists Sara Gummesson, FredrikHallgren and Anna Kjellström - examined the skulls of nine adults and one infant discovered on a tightly-packed bed of rocks in Kanaljordan, southeastern Sweden.

The rocks appear to form the base of a human-made structure, likely used as a burial plot or site for rituals, left remarkably untouched by typical erosive forces.

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