Locking in history with falsifications

A PBS NOVA presentation this past week looked at a search for the Great Heathen Army in England, the Heathens of the title being Vikings. 

The story concerned a "massive grave" of 300 Viking skeletons near an English church yard. In one scene, the head archaeologist placed five skulls on a table. All of the skulls had been taken from the burial site. Three of the skeletons, the archaeologist said, were of men. Two were of women. That proves, she said, that 20 percent of the Viking warriors were women.

It does nothing of the kind, Miss PhD Lady. All you have proved is that two of five skulls placed on a table were of women. Until you inspect and identify the sex of all skeletons in the burial site, you cannot make any such determination.

(Fix eight hours later. Two of five skulls equals 40 percent, not 20 percent. The archaeologist's statement shows a Ph. D. does not equal competency in math. Neither does a BS in Journalism, given the time it took for me to realize the mistake.)

Norse stories and Anglo-Saxon writings mention women who fought alongside men in Viking raids and battles. Viking women have been found, with weapons, in graves in Denmark and other places. Archaeologists seem bent on proving women were soldiers/warriors throughout history. That is true. But historians destroy their conclusions when not sticking with truth.