What Do Modern-day Scandinavians Actually Look Like? Top Articles To sum it up, the average Swedes, Norwegians, Danes, Finns, and Icelanders are all very tall compared to the rest of the world. Design WebSome of the familiar Scandinavian personality traits include: reticence, a highly skeptical personality, general mistrust of strangers, cautious behavior, somewhat reserved Im a Nordic native (a Swede with a Finnish mother to be precise) who likes to get nerdy and share first-hand experiences, data-driven resources, and useful guides to help people discover and understand the culture, people, life, sights, design, and history (Vikings anyone?) Ive writtenan article where I go into detail about Viking traits and looks, so if you want to find out more about Vikings looks go take a look. This article will discuss what Swedish people look like in more detail. 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. Names Old Norse mythology is filled with fascinating symbolism, and the runic alphabets of Germanic Europe have told numerous tales of heroic deeds and tragic deaths over the years. published in The American Journal Of Human Genetics. They also exercise more than the average person. Of course, there are Swedes with darker hair (like dark brown and black), but its not as common as in other nations. Please see the About page for details. This was used in their beards as well, and had the benefit of killing hair lice (a very common problem at the time). The cheeks tend to be rounder, and there is generally less definition around the face. The average linear dimensions were greater in males than in females, although both groups had slightly higher cheekbones. Light skinned, balanced facial features, blue eyed and topped with various shades of blond hair for the most part. Some very beautiful some not He also noted that they use a kind of indelible cosmetic to enhance the beauty of their eyes (believed to be Black Henbane). Savontaus, Marja-Liisa. And why are they forever bound to the history of the Smi? Next, take a look at the persons facial features. As a result, much of the Swedish population has similar light features. This is a result of a founding effect or a bottleneck effect. That particular haircut has just never been described or documented in any way as far as we know. Another wave of migrants came into Scandinavia around 4800 years ago from the Russian steppes, originating from the northern shores of the Black sea and commonly called the Western Steppe Herders. [13], The Finns and the Smi maintained their separate language identity even at a time when other Uralic speakers were losing their language to the Indo-Europeans. Scientists are now able to create eerily realistic facial reconstructions, getting us closer than ever to finding out who they were and what the Vikings looked like. Nordic Coffee Culture Explained: From Fika to Kask. Niskanen, Markku. 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. Enjoy your visit! You can also add to the list being introverted, confident and very focused. 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. 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. They have high cheekbones as a result of their heavy brows. The study of these Y chromosomal polymorphisms shows two major founding male lineages in not only the Smi, but the Finns as well. One was Finnish and the remaining five were Karelian. Vikings were often described and depicted with well-groomed and sometimes elaborate facial hair, ranging from full and long beards to more practical Viking-style She proffers it to her master, who washes his hands and face in it, as well as his hair. Yli-Kuha, Kari. That said, beards are currently fairly popular in the Nordics, as they were during the Viking Age (when insulting another mans beard could lead to death). After all, there could be more reasons Ibn Fadlan described the group of Rus he encountered on the river Volga as tattooed from top to toe, as he mightve wanted them to appear more exotic and barbaric to the Muslim world. WebLatvian face features are light hair and gray, bluish, or greenish eyes, some of them are of darker complexion, generally with brownish hair and eyes. WebThis is what people look like at Bondi Beach, Sydney. Lets dig a little deeper and look at what we know about the first Scandinavians: The first inhabitants of the Scandinavian peninsula came from the south with darker skin and blue eyes (known as Western Hunter-Gatherers), later joined by migrants from the east (known as Eastern Hunter-Gatherers) who had lighter skin but darker eyes.During the following centuries, these two hunter-gatherer groups intermingled and produced one of the most diverse populations of the stone age, with a population at the time of about 10 000 to 20 000 in all of Scandinavia. Are Scandinavians seen as unusually attractive? Modern Swedes are closely related to hunter-gatherers of the Pitted Ware culture. When it comes to how the Norse wore and styled their hair, we do have some artwork findings that show us a few examples of how Viking hairstyles could look, such as the Valkyrie knot for Norse females and the Norman cut for Norse males. Im diving deeper into what we know of Viking hair and hairstyles in a separate article, so if youd like to find out more and see some examples of fairly historically accurate modern Viking hairstyles go check that out. swedish people facial characteristics. So its not entirely out of this world to assume that they could also decorate their bodies by other means, just not very likely with the evidence we have available. The European Origin of the Finns and their Relation to the Indo-. 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. 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. Your email address will not be published. Ive written an analysis of The Last Kingdom if you want to find out if its worth watching or not. 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. But for Ibn Fadlan, the Rus Viking way of washing oneself every day wasnt really deemed satisfactory, as he wrote the following in a section titled Disgusting habits: Every day without fail they wash their faces and their heads with the dirtiest and filthiest water there could be. How do the modern-day Scandinavians compare to their ancestors? Graphs The DNA study of 442 Viking skeletons (published in Nature) reveals that while Viking bands were mostly sourced from Scandinavia, they could also be comprised of Picts and Britons, as well as people with Southern European and even Asian ancestry (sometimes mixed with Scandinavian). Check it out if youre curious! Editor's Choice Scandinavian The lack of empathy may not win you popularity contests but it certainly is a valuable trait in a competitive career field. Stereotypical Scandinavian traits and facial features have since the early 20th century included straight, blonde hair; blue eyes; tall figure; a straight nose; thin lips; and non-prominent cheekbones, according to Werner & Bjrks 2014 book Blond and High levels of Vitamin D produces more melanin, which in simple terms enables skin to tan instead of burn. [11], It has been established that the Smi were isolated for many years and come from European roots; however, at some point the Finns appeared. The average height of a female Swede is 165.6 cm (5 feet 5.23 inches), while the average height of a male Swede is 179.73 cm (5 feet 10.76 inches) [8]. The following are the most common Swedish features. I plowed through numerous books and historical texts to map out exactly how the Germanic people are connected to the Norse people and modern-day Scandinavians. Having worked with graphic design for most of my life, Im a huge fan of typography and symbolism, and also a huge history nerd. That said, it is assumed that having long hair was generally seen as more important the higher up on the social ladder one was, with the jarls having long and elaborate hairstyles, while they had their thralls (slaves, who made up around 20-30% of the population) cut their hair short. In the rest of the Nordics (namely Iceland, Finland, and the Faroe Islands) the people tend to look very similar to the Scandinavians, with especially Finland having a very large majority of their population being light-haired (blonde, light-brown, red) and light-eyed (blue, green, grey) according to Peter Frost. This also suggests that the Scandinavians diet is more nutrient-rich than that of their Nordic neighbors. 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%). However, if the most recent data is true, the two groups seem to be genetically and linguistically distinct enough to allow them to finally be studied as separate groups, so there is an illogical sense to the Smi and Finns link as well. 2. Natural platinum blonde or near-white hair occurs occasionally among the population in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Iceland, primarily among children (as hair tends to darken with age). The sagas often tell tales of exceptional strength, which is supported by several forms of archaeological evidence. [cited February 26 2005]. Thanks Jonna for your comment, and Im happy to hear you enjoyed the article! English Viking, Norse, or Scandinavians from the Viking Agewhats the correct term? Thank you for visiting Scandinavia Facts. While this is somewhat a result of natural selection that has allowed for adaptation to an environment with very low ultraviolet radiation, light pigments, like the Y chromosomal polymorphisms, are a result of a founding effect, not sexual selection, as it was once thought of in the past. By Chris Drew (PhD) / February 26, 2023. So, if a person ever decides to visit Sweden, they should be prepared to see lots of blue eyes! Movies Web5 Reasons Why Swedish People Are So Attractive (Number 3 Is My Favorite) Stefan Thyron 102K subscribers 634K views 3 years ago When I came to Sweden for the first What are typical Swedish features? Their cheekbones are high and their noses are thin. Winter, Get in touch with your inner Scandinavian. Fika While there are some that feature Lifestyle Since sunlight exposure is one of the best ways to absorb vitamin D, its normal to wonder if Swedes are often deficient in this vitamin. Greek people features stereotypically include having olive-brown skin, brown eyes and dark brown hair. 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: The Swedish have a blue eye and are taller than their Nordic neighbors. A few notable exceptions have been found on the Oseberg cart from around 800 CE, where shorter haircuts with shaved sides and backs are clearly engraved multiple times, though there are plenty of long-haired specimens as well. On the other hand, many Swedes had contact with people residing in present-day Russia or in the Baltics. [16]. Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Recommendations According to Swedish scientific magazine Illustrerad Vetenskap, this type of microevolution developed as a response to the cold and snowy climate in the Arctic region, as the fatty fold isolates against freezing temperatures and shields the bright reflection of the snow somewhat. 6 Key Differences You Didnt Know Between Kratom Liquid And Capsules, Can Safety Bollards Protect Your Assets From Accident, Understanding Auto Transport Regulations and Laws, 4 Reasons Why People Are Shifting To Renewable Energy Sources. Fika As briefly mentioned earlier, light eyes are a common trait among Swedes. So the clich blue-eyed and blonde Nordic stereotype seems to hold true then, but where do these physical traits come from and why do they still seem to have a strong presence in the Nordics? Top Articles 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. Sweden However, the lack of sunlight shouldnt be a big issue in most cases because Swedes with pale skin can absorb vitamin D faster than those with darker skin. Oslo (Complete Guide), The Scandinavian physical stereotypes are as cliche as they are well-known the stereotypical Scandis are expected to be a bunch of tall, blonde-haired, and blue-eyed Vikings in most peoples minds but can those stereotypes actually be true in modern-day Scandinavia? So it seems that all the pieces of the Smi puzzle have almost been put into place; however, with a history as long as theirs, pieces are always bound to be missing. Usenet newsgroup. WebMajority are brunettes, the rest are fake blondes. This false belief was due to linguists of the time believing that Finno-Ugric languages had an eastern origin. Read Article Now. 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