Archaeology Magazine - September/October 2014 - 6

from the president

Archaeological
Institute of America

Te Vikings, an Update

rchaeology today highlights the many connections that existed between ancient
societies and is steadily revealing the degree to which peoples in the past were
regularly in touch with other groups, often in distant lands. The Vikings exemplify
this more than most. In just three centuries, from a.d. 800 to 1100, these restless traders
and raiders spread from their homeland in Scandinavia across much of northern Europe and
far beyond, melding scattered settlements of farmers and fisherfolk into powerful kingdoms.
The Vikings have long had a fearsome reputation as
seaborne warriors bent solely on plunder and destruction. But
an exhibition at the British Museum in London in spring 2014
revealed the latest in the Viking story.
The long coastlines and numerous islands of Scandinavia
favored travel by sea. The Vikings, as heirs to this maritime
tradition, developed superb ocean-going vessels powered by oars
and sails. The famous "longships" were just that-long, narrow
vessels with flexible hulls that could ride out the swells of the
North Atlantic. Capable of traveling great distances at high speed,
these technologically advanced ships also featured a shallow draft,
enabling them to penetrate far inland, along rivers, and even to be transported overland.
Population growth and a warmer phase of climate spurred the Viking expansion. They
colonized parts of the British Isles and the northern coast of France, the Faroe Islands,
Iceland, and Greenland, and famously, if briefly, established a settlement in North America
on the northern tip of Newfoundland. They circumnavigated the continent of Europe,
voyaging westward and southward on their way to the Mediterranean. Eastward, they
traveled along the great rivers that flowed into the Black and Caspian Seas. These raiding
and trading ventures brought the Vikings into contact with the Frankish Empire of Central
Europe and the Byzantine Empire with its capital at Constantinople. They were also in
touch with the Abbasid Caliphate of the Middle East, and the khanates of Central Asia.
Many of the richer artifacts found in Viking settlements and graves originated from
these distant lands through commerce. Yet the Vikings were not just recipients of goods
made by others. They were skilled craftspeople, fashioning jewelry, weapons, tools,
fine tableware, and much else, often decorated in distinctive art styles. They developed
impressive settlements at home in Scandinavia as centers of royal authority, and founded
several of the first towns of medieval Europe, of which York and Dublin are the best known.
The Vikings erupted suddenly on a medieval world in formation, opening routes and
connecting peoples over vast distances-to great efect. They made important contributions
to the development of the societies of Europe and the North Atlantic that we know today.
The Viking story continues to unfold.

Located at Boston University

officers
President

Andrew Moore
First Vice President

Jodi Magness
Vice President for outreach and education

Pamela Russell
Vice President for research and Academic Affairs

Carla Antonaccio
Vice President for Professional responsibilities

Laetitia La Follette
Treasurer

David Ackert
Vice President for Societies

Thomas Morton
executive Director

Ann Benbow
chief operating officer

Kevin Quinlan

governing board
Susan Alcock
Barbara Barletta
Andrea Berlin
David Boochever
Bruce Campbell
Derek Counts
Julie Herzig Desnick
Sheila Dillon, ex officio
Michael Galaty
Ronald Greenberg
Michael Hoff
Jeffrey Lamia
Lynne Lancaster
Becky Lao
Deborah Lehr
Robert Littman
Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis
Maria Papaioannou
J. Theodore Peña
Eleanor Powers
Paul Rissman
Robert Rothberg
David Seigle
Chen Shen
Monica Smith
Charles Steinmetz
Claudia Valentino, ex officio
Michael Wiseman
Past President

Elizabeth Bartman
Trustees emeriti

Brian Heidtke
Norma Kershaw
Charles S. La Follette
legal counsel

Mitchell Eitel, Esq.
Sullivan & Cromwell, LLP

Andrew Moore
President, Archaeological Institute of America

Archaeological Institute of America
656 Beacon Street * Boston, MA 02215-2006
www.archaeological.org

ArchAeology * September/October 2014

http://www.archaeological.org

Archaeology Magazine - September/October 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - September/October 2014