Which scholar is cited as believing the runestone will shed light on runic alphabets in early Iron Age Scandinavia?

• A. Angela Davis
• B. Kristel Zilmer
• C. Ma Rainey
• D. Bessie Smith

Answer: (B)

Understanding how inscriptions on ancient stones can reveal how writing systems develop is key here. Kristel Zilmer is the scholar associated with the idea that runestones will shed light on how runic alphabets evolved in early Iron Age Scandinavia. Her work focuses on Viking Age runic inscriptions and what their shapes, sequences, and linguistic features tell us about the progression and regional variation of the runic writing system. By analyzing these stones, she argues, researchers can trace how the runic alphabet emerged, changed, and was used across different parts of Scandinavia.

The other names come from fields far removed from runology—political theory or music history—so they aren’t the sources typically cited for insights into the development of runic alphabets.