Includes bibliographical references (pages [303]-312) and index.
Contents:
Prologue: Carnelian -- Part one: West. 1. Hammer of Thor: bones. The Viking warrior ; A house for the dead ; The juveniles -- 2. Dirham: silver for a slave. Exchange ; Ripples from the east ; New discoveries -- 3. Ship nail: river kings. Sea steeds ; The wanderer ; Towns on the move ; Intelligence -- Part two: Homelands. 4. Buddha: the allure of the exotic. Imported objects ; Trading towns ; Eastern connections ; The Scandinavians -- 5. Valkyrie: river queens?. In search of Viking women ; Warrior women ; Migration -- 6. King piece: heading east. Austmarr: the Eastern Sea ; Towards the Silk Roads ; Salme ; Eastern settlers -- Part three: East. 7. Neck rings: the tales of the Rus'. The Rus' ; Steppe roads ; A brutal life ; Death of a chieftain -- 8. Bead: crossroads. Political minefields ; Commodities ; Warrior states ; The women of the Dnieper ; Mixed identities -- 9. Dragon's head: to Miklagard and beyond. Miklagard ; Constantinople ; Graffiti ; The Caspian Sea ; The unexpected effects of globalization -- Epilogue: Gujarat.
Summary:
An acclaimed bioarchaeologist traces the path of an ancient piece of jewelry found in a Viking grave in England back to eighth-century Baghdad and India, explaining that the Vikings' route may have been far more varied than previously known. "Follow an epic story of the Viking Age that traces the historical trail of an ancient piece of jewelry found in a Viking grave in England to its origins thousands of miles east in India. An acclaimed bioarchaeologist, Catrine Jarman has used cutting-edge forensic techniques to spark her investigation into the history of the Vikings who came to rest in British soil. By examining teeth that are now over one thousand years old, she can determine childhood diet?and thereby where a person was likely born. With radiocarbon dating, she can ascertain a death-date down to the range of a few years. And her research offers enlightening new visions of the roles of women and children in Viking culture. Three years ago, a Carnelian bead came into her temporary possession. River Kings sees her trace the path of this ancient piece of jewelry back to eighth-century Baghdad and India, discovering along the way that the Vikings? route was far more varied than we might think?that with them came people from the Middle East, not just Scandinavia, and that the reason for this unexpected integration between the Eastern and Western worlds may well have been a slave trade running through the Silk Road, all the way to Britain. Told as a riveting history of the Vikings and the methods we use to understand them, this is a major reassessment of the fierce, often-mythologized voyagers of the North?and of the global medieval world as we know it."-- description from publisher's website.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.