Social Studies 8: Vikings

• • World History in Context 
    • • Scroll down and browse topics. Alternatively, type your topic (i.e. “longship”) into the search bar. Under “ON THIS PAGE” in the gray box, click “Magazines” and “Images”. Click on the article to read or listen to. Record this information on the page from your teacher.
  • ​History Reference Center​
    • • ​​Type (“viking”) into the search box, followed by your topic (i.e. “longship”). Refine results on the left or click article. To see images, make sure you choose to read the “PDF full text” on the left.​

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WEBSITES

–> Be sure to assess the quality and credibility of the websites that you find online.
–> Consider who wrote it and what their credentials are.
–> Consider limiting your searches to certain domains (.edu, .gc, .ca, etc.). Avoid .com.

• Avoid Wikipedia
• Avoid generative AI such as ChatGPT

MUSEUM & COLLECTIONS websites

​1. The British Museum has more than 1,000,000 images of artifacts in searchable database. Click “images only”.

• Enter the type of artifact you are looking for under “Object name” in the left column.
• Find 10 extraordinary objects in this article from The Guardian.

2. The Swedish Museum (Historika). Find many different links to what has been learned about the Vikings. Items included. Awesome site for starting your research!

3. Viking Ship Museum – Denmark (Vikingeskibs Museet). Find information on five different longships, experience a virtual tour, and learn more about people of the Viking age.

4. The Metropolitan Museum. Type in what you are looking for in the search box. Check the dates.

5. Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Museum of Oxford. Includes jewelry and silver ingots.

6. Canadian Museum of History. Scroll through for information on items as well as how to make items!

7. Royal Ontario Museum. Use the search bar and type in “vikings”. Check out the Exhibition and the Collection (again, type “viking”). Also, check out A Viking’s Life.

8. University of Oslo’s Museum of Cultural History. Find links for longships and exhibitions of items (see left column in second link for more items).

• Key Objects at Museum of the Viking Age (tapestry, jewelry, weaponry, shoe, etc.)
• The Collection at the Museum of the Viking Age (includes ships: Gokstad, Oseberg, Tune)
• Viking Age exhibition (jewelry, weaponry, horse bridle, weather vane, rune stone)
• Animal metal work (offers a virtual tour, but check the dates)​

9. National Museum of Denmark. Explore the different Viking topics and artifacts on the right side of the page.

10. Werner Forman’s Collection. Forman was a famous photographer of archeological sites and artifacts. You can find many Viking items on this site. However, make sure you click on the image to read the descriptions as some of his photographs are of Viking replicas rather than original artifacts!

11. Secrets of the Ice. Hundreds of ancient Viking artifacts were found along a newly discovered trade route in Norway in April 2020. Click on “Objects” to find items related to Hunting, Transport and Mountain Passes, Clothing & Daily Life. These findings (including a mitten!) were published in the scientific journal Antiquity.

12. World-Tree Project. This project is supported by the University College Cork, Ireland, and the Irish Research Council. Many artifacts can be found here, particularly domestic and textile ones. Browse exhibits (ships, daily life, women’s roles) and/or collections (see the left margin). For women’s clothing, click here. World-Tree Project has also curated several objects of interest from the National Museum of Ireland.

13. National Museum of Ireland. Take a virtual tour of the Viking exhibition in their Archeology wing!

14. World History Encyclopedia. Viking recipes, including meats, breads, beverages, etc.

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MAGAZINE RESOURCES: Type viking into the search bar when necessary.

• Archaeology (also try this article: “Secrets of Scotland’s Viking Age Hoard” — there are five pages of artifacts! For a recent discovery of Thor’s Hammer, click here.
• ​Smithsonian (type viking artifact in search bar)
• Antiquity (“The Vikings“ collection)

GENERAL INQUIRY IDEAS FOR SOCIALS 8 (that aren’t weapons!)

1. A letter from a monk’s perspective explaining Viking activity in Lindisfarne.

2. An Icelandic Saga of a Viking Warrior or leader.

3. Oxford Big Ideas: The Vikings Chapter from Western Australian Museum. Contains sections on Viking society, home life and work, laws and economy, beliefs and mythology, longships and weapons/armour,

4. Something with Viking Runes.

5. A Viking settlement: Check out the navigation bar at the top (i.e. “Home”, etc.) and click “L’Anse aux Meadows”