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. Now, however, this region predominantly speaks Indo-European languages, which makes the fact that the Smi maintained a Uralic language even in areas that had been taken over by Indo-Europeans even stranger. Design Do Scandinavians have a lot of facial hair? A high and narrow face with marked features, mildly Since freckles are thought to be connected to the same genes as red hair, we can assume that between 1-10% of the Scandinavian populationagain depending on where in Scandinavia you arehas freckles, which means they are also more sensitive to UV light. Between 1-10% of the population of Scandinavia have red hair according to studies that have mapped out the so-called red hair genes. 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. We exists to inform people about the people, culture, and history of Northern Europe. Get in to the Scandinavian spirit at home with our premium museum-quality prints and original apparel sent right to your doorstep with free shipping worldwide. Europe had been split up into smaller sub-regions, as these countries are among the tallest in the world. Females had stronger jawlines in general, while men had slimmer faces.. WebSwedish people often look pale due to a lack of melanin. This means that the Smi could very well have been almost completely isolated for several thousands of years. Hi Love, you can see it to some extent in the various facial reconstructions done by different institutions around the world (based on analysis of DNA and skeletal remains): https://nordicperspective.com/history/vikings/how-vikings-actually-looked-complete-guide#index2, It is also mentioned by the National Museum of Denmark right here: After the divergence of the Finns from the Smi, the Smi tended to have offspring within their own group; however, the influence from the Baltic and Germanic people caused the Finns to intermix with other Indo-Europeans, making them more genetically similar to the Europeans than the Smi are. WebFor example, dimensions can be mapped to the following facial characteristics: eye size, eye spacing, nose length, nose width, mouth curvature, mouth width, mouth openness, pupil size, eyebrow slant, eye eccentricity, and head eccentricity. [1] (Complete Guide to Viking Traits), Recent advancements in DNA analysis tech have led to extraordinary insight into how Vikings looked, from hair and eye color to size and ancestry. Therefore, other traits need to be studied in order to identify the sex of skeletons. We often get an image of grizzled warriors when we see Vikings on TV, but analysis of skeletal remains shows that the Norse had more gender-neutral facial features than Scandinavians today, meaning males and females had more similar characteristics (Danish National Museum). Movies Many Finno-Ugric Samis still look down upon their people, and many of their descendants hide their heritage from the world. Quiz What is interesting here is that this particular hairstyle was so associated with the Vikings/Normans that this English man felt shame that his brothers would wear his hair like that. 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. Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest Nordic resources, insights, tips, hidden gems, and much more. Most people from the Nordics have light eyes and hair, and are quite tall compared to other nationalities. As a result of their high cheekbones, they have a high chance of being considered more attractive by foreign men. And then again, Vikings loved to express their creative sides in artful and ornamental ways, and were known to have filed down their own teeth in likely attempts to look scarier (and cooler), as seen in archeological findings. All shades of blonde and light brown colors are standard in Sweden, and some Swedes even have red or ginger-colored hair. Some scientists give quite a bit of weight to the genetics of personality and it would stand to reason that at the very least some of personality is genetic which would lead to the idea that if you are Nordic or from Northern Europe than you are going to share some of that dog eat dog personality of your ancestors. The high cheekbones are not unique to the Scandinavian culture. When the Battle Axe culture group fused with the groups already present in Scandinavia this eventually spawned the Nordic Bronze Age people, who are seen as the ancestors of all Germanic people. However, if someone has never been there before or doesnt know much about it, they might wonder what Swedish people look like. Finally, there are some written accounts as well that describe hairstyles in more or less detailed ways. 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. They have been affiliated with being people of great courage and also with being countries that invaded other countries. [12] When he has finished, the servant carries the bowl to the man next to him. 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. To elaborate on this, facial hair is included under the term androgenic hair, so based on data from the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, we see that over 70% of Nordic men (along with Mediterranean men) can grow a beard or mustache (which is well above the global average). Karl, Clothes So What Do Scandinavian People Actually Look Like? The Viking beard was a source of pride and honor among the free men, and insulting ones beard could result in a deadly outcome or sometimes even prolonged feuding between families. The ability to have an internal loci of control and to act on it makes the Scandinavian Personality Trait a key trait for personal success. WebSwedish ( ethnic ones not Saamis), mostly belong to what is called the Nordic race which is centered in Northern Europe. Comparisons Required fields are marked *. When it all comes down to it the classic Nordic/Scandinavian stereotype seems to hold true still. Todays Scandinavians are about 65%-80% Scandinavian as far as DNA goes, with the rest of the DNA being primarily Finnish, Western European, British, Eastern European, and Irish (all are > 1%). For many years, there was a common belief that the Smi may have migrated from the east and have an Asian genetic background rather than a European one. Aside from their high cheekbones, many Scandinavians have high cheekbones. 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. Life So it does appear that the Smi experienced a period of isolation and at some point in time the Finns seem to be included in this isolation. (Carpelan), [6] There is a common consensus that the Smi inhabited the region first; however, the genetic origin of the groups, their natural history and the diversion of the language are issues that are heavily debated. Its a matter of perspective, in other words, but what we do know specifically is that Vikings washed themselves every morning, and even had one dedicated day (Laugardagur / Lrdag / Saturday) to get thoroughly clean. The sagas reveal feats of great strength, and while that may be exaggerated, analysis of skeletal remains show larger-than-average muscle mass. They are not afraid to be late. As a result, much of the Swedish population has similar light features. As mentioned earlier, there is often a lack of melanin in a Swedish persons iris, leading to light-colored eyes. 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. Scandinavians do have curly hair, but as weve established most of them have wavy or straight hair. While there are some that feature darker Mongoloid-like characteristics, there are others who display very light colored pigments in their skin and hair. Language Scientifically speaking, there are a couple of factors that could play in the Scandinavians favor as far as sexual selection and attractiveness go: I want to point out that beauty is entirely objective, and what is considered attractive for some may not be for others. (Examples), https://nordicperspective.com/history/vikings/how-vikings-actually-looked-complete-guide#index2, Northern Europeans Average (R Steckel 2004), Anglo-Saxons, England (G Galofr-Vil 2017), Global Average (based on archeological findings), Romans 500 BCE500CE, Italy (G Kron 2005). In addition, they have higher athleticism, which is considered a positive sexual trait in most cultures. (Circum Polar Perspective), [5] To sum it up, the average Swedes, Norwegians, Danes, Finns, and Icelanders are all very tall compared to the rest of the world. [8] By the way, if you'd like to connect to your inner Scandinavian with some stylish prints and clothing, I've created a collection of high-quality and authentic Nordic posters and apparel. Chinese people have rounder eyes, while Japanese people usually have almond-shaped eyes. Depending on which combination of the genes you have, you will develop either red hair and freckles, only red hair, or only freckles. 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. All of our knowledge about pre-Viking Scandinavians comes from DNA analysis and theories, but for an idea of how modern-day Swedes, Danes, and Norwegians look like we can turn to some cold hard data and settle some standard questions right off the bat. [4] DNA analysis of specimens from this period shows that people with this cultures distinctive facial features have dark hair, a mix of light and dark skin, and blue eyes. While the eyes are not an important part of the Scandinavian facial features, they have bright, large, and beautiful eyes. As a Scandinavian, you may be more prone to have high cheekbones. 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? The Swedish have a blue eye and are taller than their Nordic neighbors. Essentially, this means you will likely not meet as many curly-haired Scandinavians as you would southern Europeans or Americans for example. Although the rest of the Nordics generally view Sweden in a positive light still, there has been a slight shift towards more people having a more negative image of Sweden and Swedes lately. 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. The same DNA study also found a higher proportion of dark eye colors in Vikings, than in modern-day Scandinavians, hinting that the Vikings were comprised of a more diverse group of people than the Nordic countries have today. Besides their high noses, they have high cheekbones. Read Article Now. They built powerful cultures and countries. The prevalence of this gene on the Norwegian west coast is thought to be linked to slaves from Ireland and Scotland being brought to Scandinavia. Scandinavian people do not have a very high prevalence of the EDAR gene, thought to be connected with thicker hair (among other traits). Their eyes are light in many cases, including blue and green. The study of Y chromosomal polymorphisms also seems to support the theory of the Smis long isolation; however, it seems that they were not always living completely alone. She goes on passing the basin round from one to another until she has taken it to all the men in the house in turn. Blonde hair. Iceland 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. 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. The Swedish have a blue eye and are taller Scandinavia before the bronze age had the most genetically diverse population in Europe, with the original darker skinned people being present much longer in Scandinavia compared to the rest of Europe (where the light-skinned farmers pushed away the dark-skinned hunters almost entirely). 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. The Smi, for first time, appear not to have always been the weaker minority. Do Scandinavians have a lot of body hair? Norway The darker the brown, the more attractive the person. Facts According to a Popular Science Monthly study, most Scandinavians have wavy hair, with some parts of northern Scandinavia having more coarse/straight hair. Of course, thats not to say there arent many Swedes with brown eyes. Fika So the theory is that on top of any Vitamin D youd get from the sun, Scandinavians have also stocked up on it via their fish intake. This ice age did not officially end until 9500 BCE with larger population growth not occurring until 8000 BCE. Curious how Vikings actually looked like? What Hair Colors Did Vikings Mostly Have? Nordic Traits Lifestyle Shopping There is still a large amount on new information to be uncovered about the Smis very ancient past. May 2000. Did Vikings Wear Eyeliner and Other Makeup? When did they come into being? Read more about how The Last Kingdom, Vikings, and Game of Thrones compare. Modern Swedes are closely related to hunter-gatherers of the Pitted Ware culture. Finland The face is narrow, with a fairly narrow forehead, narrow high-standing nose, and a narrow under jaw with an angularly-set, clear-cut chin. This period may possibly have been a reflection of the Smi living in their current region during the last ice age (20000-16000 BCE), continuing their way of life even through the time of the last glacial coverage of Scandinavia. While the Finns speak Finnish and the Smi speak many different languages among themselves, all of these variants of human speech belong to the Finno-Ugric or Uralic language group. Larger-Than-Average muscle mass blue eye and are quite tall compared to other nationalities for first time, not. Great strength, and many of their high noses, they have athleticism. 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