Selective female infanticide in the Viking Age: A feminist critique

This article challenges the long-standing assumption that female infanticide was a widespread and socially accepted practice in the Viking Age. While previous scholarship has often interpreted written and archaeological evidence as proof of habitual female infanticide, such claims rest on selective readings, methodological flaws, and androcentric biases. While debates on the written record have already demonstrated the lack of credible evidence for female infanticide, this article extends the critique to (bio)archaeological data. It shows how excavation practices, age-estimation methods, issues of representativity, and modern gender stereotypes shape interpretations of the burial record and demonstrates that (bio)archaeological evidence likewise offers no support for claims of female infanticide. By foregrounding feminist perspectives, this article argues that narratives of female infanticide reflect modern scholarly imaginaries more than Viking Age practices.