Typology and function of Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age cremation graves: a micro-regional case study

In Denmark, there has been little focus on characteristic differences between grave types from the transition period between the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age with limited elaboration on the nature of the differences and on chronological variation. In nearby Scania, Sweden, a grave type classic for Southern Scandinavia, the ‘cremation pit’, has been interpreted as in situ remains of the actual cremation pyre, that is, a form of bustum. Here, we further explore this interpretation through both osteological and archaeological analyses of recently excavated graves from the Fraugde region on northern Funen ,Denmark. In the Fraugde region, pyre debris in cremation graves clearly gain significance during the transition period from the Bronze Age towards the Pre-Roman Iron Age. The exclusive presence of cremation pits on the Pre-Roman Iron Age grave sites in contrast to the varied grave types present on the Bronze Age sites implies a change in cremation practice and technology during the transition period. Although clearly commemorated and left undisturbed for centuries, the cremation pits on the pre-Roman Iron Age sites must be interpreted as intentional, secondary deposits of the debris from the cremation pyre, but not as in situ pyre sites

Mapping human mobility during the third and second millennia BC in present-day Denmark

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