The genetic analysis of Viking Settlers challenges the historical saga
On a map it is obvious that Norse settlers from Iceland and Faroe Islands settled together. Norway, at 900 miles away, is Iceland’s closest neighbor. It is also 350 miles from the Faroe Islands, an archipelago consisting of 18 islands located in the North Atlantic. New evidence suggests that the truth may be more complex. According to Frontiers in Genetics, a genetic study shows that Icelandics come from the same gene pool as residents of Faroe Islands, but they come from an even more varied and distant one. Scientists had long believed that both the Faroe Islands, and Iceland had been settled by Norse-speaking people. Lead author of the report Christopher Tillquist is an associate professor from the University of Louisville. Our novel analysis shows that the islands were settled by men who came from distinct gene pools in Scandinavia. The genetic fingerprints are still present today.
Diverse Viking gene pools
Researchers compared 12 genetic markers from 139 Faroese men to 412 men in Norway, Sweden Denmark, Iceland and Ireland. The analysis revealed that Faroese genotypes were similar to those found in Scandinavia while Icelandic genotypes appeared more diverse and spread out. The results of this study are particularly interesting, as they provide new information on the Faereyinga Saga written around 800 years ago. This story tells of a Viking Chief called Grimur kamban who settled on the Faroe Islands between 1200 and 1300 years before.
Read more: Vikings once called North America home
Far Away Followers
Genetic data indicate that Grimur’s followers came from all over Scandinavia, not just one region. This suggests that Iceland was settled by a different genetic group. Tillquist stated in a press release that “despite the geographic proximity, there doesn’t appear to have been interbreeding between the two populations.” Our results show that Viking expansion in the North Atlantic is more complicated than was previously believed.”
As a result, history books about the region may need to be rewritten to account for the more complicated story of Viking settlement.
