Viking Expansion Triggered by Shortage of Wives?

VikingsViking Age is the term denoting the years from about 700 to 1066 in European history. During this period, Scandinavians sailed the whole of the North Atlantic and discovered Iceland and Greenland, and settled parts of England, Scotland, Ireland and Normandy. The reasons for this extraordinary outpouring of peoples from Scandinavia have been debated ever since the Viking Age. Researcher James Barrett, deputy director of Cambridge University’s McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, comes with an answer for the century old question. According to his new research, the young warriors were driven to seek their fortunes to better their chances of finding wives. He argues that selective killing of female newborns in the Scandinavian society led to a shortage of women in the first place, resulting later in intense competition over eligible women.

Ancient Recipe Recommends Wine For Longer Life

GrapesAn 18th century recipe discovered in an old manuscript found among the shelves of a pharmacy in Asciano near Sienna in Italy, says concoction of honey, cherries and secret herbs infused in a full Chianti wine is a secret for longer life. De Munari who found the recipe,brewed the beverage, and came up with a “low-calorie, highly digestive alcoholic infusion which tasted delicious.” The main ingredient in the elixir is the Sangiovese grape, which is the soul of Chianti wine. Chianti is Italy’s most famous red wine, which takes its name from a traditional region of Tuscany where it is produced.

Hear Neanderthal Speaking

Neanderthal Researchers have modeled the hominids’ larynx to replicate the possible sounds they would have made. The work, is based on Neanderthal fossils found in France. Neanderthals are our closest extinct ancestors and lived in parts of Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East for around 170,000 years, then died out some 28,000 years.

Ancient Biological Weapons

goats.pngBiological warfare was used as early as 1300 B.C. Infected rams and donkeys were the bioweapons used then. According to a review published in the Journal of Medical Hypotheses, two ancient populations, the Arzawans and the Hittites, engaged “in mutual use of contaminated animals” during the 1320-1318 B.C. Anatolian war.