Abstract
We present results of the largest multidisciplinary human mobility investigation to date of skeletal remains from present-day Denmark encompassing the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. Through a multi-analytical approach based on 88 individuals from 37 different archaeological localities in which we combine strontium isotope and radiocarbon analyses together with anthropological investigations, we explore whether there are significant changes in human mobility patterns during this period. Overall, our data suggest that mobility of people seems to have been continuous throughout the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. However, our data also indicate a clear shift in mobility patterns from around 1600 BC onwards, with a larger variation in the geographical origin of the migrants, and potentially including more distant regions. This shift occurred during a transition period at the beginning of the Nordic Bronze Age at a time when society flourished, expanded and experienced an unprecedented economic growth, suggesting that these aspects were closely related.
Highlights
We wish to trace mobility patterns during the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC in the region covered by present-day Denmark, in order to ascertain if there were significant changes linked to the introduction of the metal economy after 2000 BC
A number of human mobility studies based on strontium isotope analyses of human remains from among others, southern Sweden, Germany and Britain have revealed indications of a rather high rate of human mobility during the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC e.g. [47, 48,49,50,51,52]
Some of these studies suggested a pattern in which exogamy may have prevailed during the Corded Ware and Bell Beaker/Early Bronze Age societies, as a majority of the women investigated were of non-local origin [3, 50]
Summary
We wish to trace mobility patterns during the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC in the region covered by present-day Denmark, in order to ascertain if there were significant changes linked to the introduction of the metal economy after 2000 BC. [1, 2] This was a period of cultural and genetic admixture e.g. From 1600 BC onwards, southern Scandinavia became more closely linked to the existing European metal trade networks [4], and from 1500 BC onwards, a period of unparalleled creativity resulted in the formation of a Nordic Bronze Age style, based on stylistic influences from Mycenean and central European workshops [5].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
