Are there any ‘real’ men and women in the Viking Age? An examination of gendered research contributions from 1980-2019 in Viking Age archaeology

This paper seeks to analyze how the archaeologist’s research regarding sex, gender and social identity has changed since the beginning of gender archaeology in 1984 until 2019. The goal is to examine how the research trends have changed over time. This paper also seeks to examine how the archaeologists treat gender by highlighting feminist and stereotypical tendencies in the research contributions. The thesis is based on research contributions by different authors who are focusing on the inhabitants of the Viking Age, gender, gender roles and power. The contributions spans from approximately 1980 to 2019, and it has resulted in a total of 117 research contribution, which have been examined. Hopefully, this paper will provide a basis for further research on gender and Viking Age archaeology