The Viking Archaeology Blog is concerned with news reports featuring Viking period archaeology. It was primarily constructed as a source for the University of Oxford Online Course in Viking Archaeology: Vikings: Raiders, Traders and Settlers. For news reports for general European archaeology, go to The Archaeology of Europe News Blog.
Sunday, 27 January 2013
Living conditions and indoor air quality in a reconstructed Viking house
Jannie Marie Christensen & Morten Ryhl-Svendsen
How harmful to a person’s health were the indoor conditions in Danish Viking Age houses?
We do not have much direct evidence describing that. But we know that currently exposure to smoke from the solid fuel used for cooking and heating in open fireplaces in Third World homes is in harmful levels. It is among the top ten global risks for mortality and lost years of healthy life. Fuel smoke accounts for about 3 % of the global burden of diseases, mainly for women and young children, e.g.; lower respiratory infections, pulmonary diseases, and lung cancer
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