An Archaeological Examination of the Human Remains associated with Vasa

Summary

When Vasa sank in 1628, approximately 30 lives were lost. Through the course of the excavation of the ship in the 1950s and 1960s, over 1,500 human bones were recorded and cataloged, which are currently believed to represent 15 individuals. The human remains have been the subject of osteological, odontological, and DNA analyses, though none of these studies have taken into account their archaeological context. This research provides the first complete archaeological analysis of the human remains by examining find locations and the site formation processes affecting distribution. Additionally, each individual was examined within the framework of John Leach's model of survival psychology. By linking the methodologies of archaeology, osteology, and survival psychology, this research provides an interpretation of what the men and women aboard Vasa were doing when the ship sank in order to better understand who these people were and why they died in the sinking.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018   •
• Understanding Seventeenth Century Maritime Culture: Current Research on the Swedish Warship Vasa of 1628

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 330