Pre-Viking Industrial Whaling? Game Pieces Reveal Early Norse Trade

Archaeologists have unearthed ancient game pieces—hnefatafl, similar to chess—made from whale bone at Vendel Culture sites in Sweden. Genetic analysis and archaeological evidence reveal the whale bones weren't from stranded whales, but from organized whaling, potentially the earliest evidence of industrial whaling in Scandinavia, dating back to 550-793 CE. This discovery reveals extensive trade networks and coastal resource use predating the Viking Age, laying the groundwork for later Viking expansion.