Vikings! How Closely Do YOU Match Ancient Vikings?

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Ethnicity Estimates

If you have tested with more than one DNA company you probably have varied ethnic percentages, especially in the earlier years. Your ethnic breakdown could vary from company to company and, as sample populations increased, your comparison would be adjusted within a company such as Ancestry or FtDNA.  The genetic breakdowns didn't always agree with the genealogical findings either.


Ancestry.com

MaryLynn's most recent at Ancestry--Scandinavian 11%



My Heritage

MaryLynn at My Heritage--Scandinavian 34.5%



FamilyTreeDNA

MaryLynn at FtDNA--Scandinavian 22%


My genealogical heritage was primarily English immigrants to New England in the 1600s with the addition of my Scots-Irish maternal great-grandmother in the 1800s.  But my DNA ethnicity always included a large percentage of Scandinavian results.  I always figured it was due to the many invasions of the British Isles by the Danes and Vikings.


Living DNA


MaryLynn at Living DNA


My test at Living DNA confirmed my genealogical findings, that I am 100% British Isles.  My genetic results are further broken down by different areas of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales with notes about the history of each area.


Viking Index

The Viking index represents the amount of DNA that you share with ancient Vikings. First, the genetic similarities between your DNA and the DNA obtained from ancient viking and non-viking samples are computed. This allows us to estimate how much DNA you share with each group. In order to then interpret and contextualise this calculation we compare your value to that of all other Living DNA users. This yields your Viking Index score. The Viking Index score allows you to see where your result falls in comparison to the whole range of Viking Indexes across the Living DNA user base. For example, if your Viking Index is 80%, this means that your DNA is more similar to Viking DNA than 80% of all Living DNA customers. [1]



"Viking Index" of MaryLynn Strickland

Living DNA has just introduced their new Viking report by which we can determine how much of my British heritage is based on Viking DNA.  My Viking Index is 47% and I am most closely associated with Vikings from Norway.






Vikings of Norway

Although we might think of the Vikings as a single people, the inhabitants of Scandinavia who lived around 800 AD in regions that became the modern day countries of Denmark, Sweden and Norway were not actually a homogenous population. While these Norsemen did share their language, cultural traditions and craft styles, they were ruled through local kingdoms and lordships. Certain settlements, such as Hedeby in Denmark, Trondheim in Norway and Birka in Sweden are considered to be places of regional power, and associated with the development of metallurgy and trade.

The Vikings of coastal Norway were among the most adventurous, sailing and plundering westwards and settling the Faroe Islands, Orkney, the Shetlands Islands, and Ireland. In 841 it was Norwegian Vikings who founded the city of Dublin. Between 879 and 920 AD a colony was also founded in Iceland. This became the origin for the colonisation of Greenland, and later North America. The remains of a Viking settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland have been carbon dated to one millennia ago.[2]

 

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MaryLynn introduced me to LivingDNA's new Viking report. Since I am about one quarter Swedish, because one of my grandmothers, my father's mother Elsie Schell Cowan, was 100% Swedish. Her parents, my great-grandparents were both immigrants from Sweden in 1887 and 1888. They met and married in Duluth, Minnesota where most of their children, including my grandma, were born, before moving west to Seattle where they ran a bakery. So it was not a surprise to see that I have a high "Viking index" - 58%. 


"Viking Index" of Valorie Zimmerman
This is not the same as an "ethnicity" estimate, which is based on a tester's match to the reference panel of each testing company. My Scandinavian estimates vary from LivingDNA: 27.9%, 23andMe: 26.4% and Ancestry: 22% plus 2% Finn, to 0% at both MyHeritage and Family Tree DNA, although MyH had 3.9% Finn. 

LivingDNA said in an email about the new service, "delve even deeper into your Viking ancestry and explore your DNA to Viking population models derived from the DNA of ancient Viking remains" [email dated May 19, 2022 called Unlock your Viking upgrade today from livingdna.com]. On the site they say,

From population groups, to Index scores - Be one of the first to experience Viking and uncover which which group you are genetically closest to. 

The Viking era lasted lasted from 789 AD to approximately 1066 AD (Brink and Price 2008, Jesch 2015) and had an enduring impact upon the peoples of Europe. Many of the royal families of Europe can trace their lineage back to the Viking rulers and the kingdoms that they founded across the continent.

Now, using the latest academic and scientific research, we are able to tell you how similar your DNA is to those ancient Norsemen that have captured imaginations for generations.[2]

Not surprisingly, the LivingDNA map shows Denmark and southern Sweden for me.

LivingDNA: Vikings of Denmark & Sweden 

I used Google My Maps to create a map showing the counties where my great-grandparents were born in relationship to Björkö, the center of Viking power, according to LivingDNA. My father's Scots, and my mother's general British Isles and north, central and eastern European roots presumably also had Viking ancestry along with my nordic grandma.

Björkö, Jönköping (ggf) & Kopparberg (ggm)


Ancient Viking DNA

A total of 446 Viking samples were used for our analysis. Ancient human remains from the Viking Age were excavated in a diverse set of 80 archaeological sites within the current borders of the United Kingdom (including mainland Great Britain and the Orkney Islands), Ireland, Iceland, Denmark (mainland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland), Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Ukraine, Poland and Russia.

Samples were excavated in the major areas of Viking influence and have been dated to between the late 8th and late 11th centuries CE.[4]


Ancient DNA matching seems to be a growing part of the DNA testing landscape, based on a quick web search.  Watch for more developments in your DNA results; who knows what is next?


Valorie Zimmerman


MaryLynn Strickland

Your Viking DNA Cousins--Valorie Zimmerman and MaryLynn Strickland 

Note: The Viking Index is based on a comparison with other LivingDNA kits. "...if your Viking Index is 80%, this means that your DNA is more similar to Viking DNA than 80% of all Living DNA customers." https://my.livingdna.com/vikings/results

1. https://my.livingdna.com/vikings/overview

2. https://my.livingdna.com/vikings/overview

3. https://my.livingdna.com/vikings/overview

4. https://my.livingdna.com/vikings/overview



Comments

  1. ValorieJune 28, 2022 at 3:36 PM

    My father's Viking surprising results have come in - "Your viking index is 95%. You are most closely associated with the Vikings of Norway." Mine where associated with Swedish and Danish! However, even though Ted Cowan was 50% Swedish, that does not mean that many of his forebears were not ancient Norwegian Vikings. Whereas my mother's ancient roots tipped my index score the other way.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJuly 1, 2022 at 5:30 AM

    I do have viking DNA

    ReplyDelete
  3. Diane HenriksJuly 1, 2022 at 7:38 AM

    I have yet to do my DNA at LivingDNA. How fun to see if and how much Viking you have! What a fun and interesting post; I may have to do my DNA at LivingDNA now! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Elizabeth Swanay O'NealJuly 5, 2022 at 10:48 AM

    You've got me beat. My LivingDNA Viking "quotient" came in at 36%. I have no idea from where it might have come, and I really didn't expect it to be that high. But I couldn't resist doing the test. It was fun seeing the results!

    ReplyDelete

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