A Viking-Inca Link?

The Vikings were great seafarers, but could they have traveled all the way to Peru and brought back an Inca? Archaeologists pulled up some rose bushes at the old St. Nicolas church in Sarpsborg, Norway, and came upon an unusual skull.

"A particular bone at the back of the head was not fused. This is an inherited trait found almost exclusively among the Incas of Peru," [Mona Beate] Buckholm added. To this day, no other example of this trait has been found in Norway. "While it is tempting to speculate, seeing as St. Nicolas is the patron saint of sailors, it's hard to imagine a Peruvian making his way here at the time. This is quite puzzling." [Link]

But Who Has His Car Keys?

When Torbjorn Johannes Maage emigrated to the United States from Norway in 1882, he left behind his wallet. It somehow ended up in the family of Tor Oevsthus, who recently tracked down a descendant of Torbjorn in Minnesota.

"I have taken for granted that it came into my family in an honorable way," Oevsthus said. "But you never know. Maybe it was won in a poker game? My thought is that this family needed some money to make the journey to America, and they sold this wallet with other possessions.

"It is a very nice piece of work, but it had nothing to do with my family. I thought it was very important to find the right address for it." [Link]

Vicariously Vikings

Does your family sit around the Easter dinner table boasting of crimes they've committed in the past year? If so, you might have Norwegian ancestry.

Norwegians at this time of year indulge in a tradition known as "Easter Crime," which involves reading crime novels and watching police dramas on television. The country's crime rate is currently low, but historically Norway was the home base of a notorious gang of thugs.

Nobody knows when the Norwegian tradition of crime telling at Easter began, but their warrior ancestors -- the Vikings -- were renowned for raiding trips to the British Isles.

On their return the Vikings would settle down with flasks of mead, an alcoholic drink made from honey, and recount tales of murder and pillage to their women and children. [Link]

[tagged: genealogy, family tree, ancestry]

Is Lake Wobegon on the Itinerary?

From the Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune of Oct. 20, 2005:

Norway's crown prince visits Minnesota

Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS - Crown Prince Haakon could have thought he was back home in Norway.

[snip]

Haakon, 32, celebrated the 100th anniversary of Norway's independence from Sweden with a series of cultural and business appearances Wednesday and Thursday in a state that treasures its Nordic heritage.

[snip]

The lives of Norwegian-American immigrants were marked by hardship, suffering and endless work, sustained by their Lutheran faith and their sense of community.

Minnesota House Speaker Sviggum and Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson - both of Norwegian descent - see an echo of that in the modern stereotype of the stoic Minnesotan.

"I only look at my mother-in-law and my mother and grandmother," Sviggum said. "Whether they were overly happy, or suffering pain in their life, you could barely tell the difference."

[snip]

[Read the whole story]