Ep. 339 | Bones vs. Weapons: The Truth About Viking Skeletons w/ Dr. Marianne Moen

For generations, archaeologists identified male Viking burials by the presence of swords and female burials by oval brooches. But what happens when modern osteological science proves those Victorian assumptions wrong? Host Daniel Farrand and archaeologist Mags Haggar sit down with Dr. Marianne Moen, Head of the Department of Archaeology at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, to uncover the reality of skeletal sexing.

The trio breaks down how biological sex is actually determined from human remains—analyzing cranial traits, pelvic morphology, and cutting-edge tooth enamel peptide testing. Dr. Moen exposes how the obsession with grave goods ignores the 25% of Viking graves that cannot be neatly gendered, why trauma on a skeleton doesn't define a person's life, and why redefining history is the core of good archaeology.

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