SkillBuilder discussion Using historical sources 1. Discuss what you can see in the illustration of a Viking grave. 2. Use the SOURCE4 image and text to suggest why the items were buried with a person.
7.4.3 What were Viking farms like? Viking farms were usually a cluster of buildings around the longhouse where the family lived. Early longhouses included living quarters, animal stalls, a workshop, and storage for food and tools. Later, the longhouse was just for living, and other buildings were used for different purposes. Hired hands and slaves helped run the farm, with slaves doing the least desirable jobs. Villages were rare. Farms might group together along trade routes, but most Viking farms were isolated and had to be self-sufficient. Viking farmers needed to be skilled in carpentry, blacksmithing, crop cultivation and animal breeding. They built their own longhouses, boats, carts and tools.
SOURCE5 A reconstruction of a Viking tapestry showing various everyday activities. The tapestry was reconstructed from pieces that were found buried with the Oseberg ship.
SkillBuilder discussion Using historical sources 1. Study SOURCE5 . What does the reconstructed Viking tapestry show? 2. Where is the reconstructed Viking longhouse located? 3. What natural event helped preserve the original Viking longhouse?
TOPIC7 The Vikings 163
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