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In this introductory chapter to the current volume, the editors problematize previous archaeological approaches to the study of the Pacific War and in doing so highlight the need for a multi-vocal approach to the study of conflict. The authors situate this volume within the wider sphere of academic discourse on the War and in addition provide an outline of the volume’s contents.

Both public and scholarly

perceptions of the Viking Age (c.AD 750–1050) have long been dominated by a

western outlook, emphasising raiding and trading in Europe and the North Atlantic,

with only limited attention paid to Scandinavian contacts to the east. In recent years,

this viewpoint has shifted dramatically, not only acknowledging the borderless nature of

the so-called Viking diaspora, but also the true extent of its range into the steppe and

beyond to east Asia, as well as maritime connections through the Red Sea and Indian

Ocean. A new research centre at Uppsala University in Sweden aims to explore these

new frontiers, in collaboration with international colleagues.