The Chronology of Danish Dolmens. Results from 14C Dates on Human Bones

The thousands of dolmens and long barrows spread across the Danish landscape are the earliest long-lasting expressions of architectural monumentality in Scandinavia. A series of new AMS dates on human skeletal material from several of them leads to a clarification of the generations-long debate on the relative chronology and typological evolution of this group of monuments. Earthen long barrows were raised from ca. 3700 cal BC. That is at least two centuries later than the arrival of such elements of the Neolithic world as funnel beaker pottery and domestic cattle to the region. The practice of using large stones (megaliths) for burial chambers was present by 3600 BC. Classical Urdolmen were built alongside various types of more complex dolmen chambers during the period ca. 3600–3400 BC, after which passage grave were erected

Megaliths, Landscapes and Identities: the case of Falbygden, Sweden

Today, about 525 dolmens and passage graves are known in Sweden. These tombs were built in a short and intense period, c. 3300- 3000 BC, in the cultural setting of the Funnel Beaker (TRB) culture. The tombs occur in two distinct types of landscape. In Scania, Halland and Bohuslän, they are found close to the coast, in a strongly marine environment.The second and larger group of tombs is found in the inland area of Falbygden in Västergötland. Here, a remarkable concentration of at least 255 tombs coincides with one of the very few places in the region where bedrock consists of limestone and slate instead of Precambrian rocks.Spatial patterns are discernible in Falbygden but not very clearlyin Bohuslän. In Falbygden, the tombs are closely spaced, occur in clusters or groups of 5–15 tombs, and tend towards regular spacing within the groups. Also, the largest tombs tend to occur in the centre of the area, for instance in Karleby, where several of the largest tombs are found. I will discuss the spatial patterns in the Falbygden landscape at different spatial levels, and whether the spatial patterns are also discernible in other variables, such as tomb or pottery typology. I will also touch upon the relations between Falbygden and surrounding non-megalithic regions as visible in ongoing isotope studies

Tiarp Backgården. An Early Neolithic Dolmen in Falbygden, Sweden and Early Megalithic Tombs in South Scandinavia and Northern Central Europe

The excavation of the simple dolmen at Tiarp, Falbygden, dating to around 3500 BCE, has provided important information for the understanding of the megalithic and early TRB in southern Scandinavia and northern Central Europe. The absolute chronological dating shows that dolmens were erected at about the same time between Falbygden and Altmark, before the main passage grave architectural phase. Although fragmented and affected by taphonomic processes, the bone assemblage provides insights into the burial practices. At least twelve individuals, from neonates to elderly, had been buried within the chamber. The predominance of hand and foot bones suggests that they were primary inhumations. Their isotope values indicate an already agrarian society, which, however, was based only to a certain extent on agriculture. Insofar, the dolmen at Tiarp signals transformations – not only in respect to the introduction of agriculture but also regarding ritual practices – within the Early and Middle Neolithic

The spatiotemporal spread of human migrations during the European Holocene

The European continent was subject to two major migrations of peoples during the Holocene: the northwestward movement of Anatolian farmer populations during the Neolithic and the westward movement of Yamnaya steppe peoples during the Bronze Age. These movements changed the genetic composition of the continent’s inhabitants. The Holocene was also characterized by major changes in vegetation composition, which altered the environment occupied by the original hunter-gatherer populations. We aim to test to what extent vegetation change through time is associated with changes in population composition as a consequence of these migrations, or with changes in climate. Using ancient DNA in combination with geostatistical techniques, we produce detailed maps of ancient population movements, which allow us to visualize how these migrations unfolded through time and space. We find that the spread of Neolithic farmer ancestry had a two-pronged wavefront, in agreement with similar findings on the cultural spread of farming from radiocarbon-dated archaeological sites. This movement, however, did not have a strong association with changes in the vegetational landscape. In contrast, the Yamnaya migration speed was at least twice as fast, and coincided with a reduction in the amount of broad-leaf forest and an increase in the amount of pasture and natural grasslands in the continent. We demonstrate the utility of integrating ancient genomes with archaeometric datasets in a spatiotemporal statistical framework, which we foresee will enable future studies of ancient populations movements, and their putative effects on local fauna and flora

RADON - Radiocarbon dates online 2012. Central European database of 14C dates for the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age.

In order to understand the dynamics of cultural phenomena, scientific dating in archaeology is an increasingly indispensable tool. Only by dating independently of typology is it possible to understand typological development itself (Müller 2004). Here radiometric dating methods, especially those based on carbon isotopy, still play the most important role. For evaluations exceeding the intra-site level, it is particularly important that such data is collected in large numbers and that the dates are easily accessible. Also, new statistical analyses, such as sequential calibration based on Bayesian methods, do not require single dates, but rather demand a greater number. By their combination significantly more elaborate results can be achieved compared to the results from conventional evaluation (e. g. Whittle et al. 2011).A second premise of RADON is that of „Open Access“. This approach continues to be applied in the international research community, which we welcome as a highly positive development. The radiocarbon database RADON has been committed to this principle for more than 12 years. In this database 14C data – primarily of the Neolithic of Central Europe and Southern Scandinavia – is collected and successively augmented

Dichtezentren und lokale Gruppierungen - Eine Karte zu den Großsteingräbern Mittel- und Nordeuropas

Until today a detailed mapping of the megalithic structures from the 4th millenium BC in northern Europe seems a desideratum. The DFG-Priority Program 1400 “Early Monumentality and Social Differentiation” is currently working on the Neolithic of the northern European plain. One important aim is to record and analyse the archaeological evidence within the working region in a systematical way. As a first step, an account of all megaliths available is of crucial importance. The map presented here reveals remarkable spatial patterns that may serve as a starting point for further research

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

Genomic Steppe ancestry in skeletons from the Neolithic Single Grave Culture in Denmark

The Gjerrild burial provides the largest and best-preserved assemblage of human skeletal material presently known from the Single Grave Culture (SGC) in Denmark. For generations it has been debated among archaeologists if the appearance of this archaeological complex represents a continuation of the previous Neolithic communities, or was facilitated by incoming migrants. We sampled and analysed five skeletons from the Gjerrild cist, buried over a period of c. 300 years, 2600/2500-2200 cal BCE. Despite poor DNA preservation, we managed to sequence the genome (>1X) of one individual and the partial genomes (0.007X and 0.02X) of another two individuals. Our genetic data document a female (Gjerrild 1) and two males (Gjerrild 5 + 8), harbouring typical Neolithic K2a and HV0 mtDNA haplogroups, but also a rare basal variant of the R1b1 Y-chromosomal haplogroup. Genome-wide analyses demonstrate that these people had a significant Yamnaya-derived (i.e. steppe) ancestry component and a close genetic resemblance to the Corded Ware (and related) groups that were present in large parts of Northern and Central Europe at the time. Assuming that the Gjerrild skeletons are genetically representative of the population of the SGC in broader terms, the transition from the local Neolithic Funnel Beaker Culture (TRB) to SGC is not characterized by demographic continuity. Rather, the emergence of SGC in Denmark was part of the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age population expansion that swept across the European continent in the 3rd millennium BCE, resulting in various degrees of genetic replacement and admixture processes with previous Neolithic populations

Genomic Steppe ancestry in skeletons from the Neolithic Single Grave Culture in Denmark.

The Gjerrild burial provides the largest and best-preserved assemblage of human skeletal material presently known from the Single Grave Culture (SGC) in Denmark. For generations it has been debated among archaeologists if the appearance of this archaeological complex represents a continuation of the previous Neolithic communities, or was facilitated by incoming migrants. We sampled and analysed five skeletons from the Gjerrild cist, buried over a period of c. 300 years, 2600/2500-2200 cal BCE. Despite poor DNA preservation, we managed to sequence the genome (>1X) of one individual and the partial genomes (0.007X and 0.02X) of another two individuals. Our genetic data document a female (Gjerrild 1) and two males (Gjerrild 5 + 8), harbouring typical Neolithic K2a and HV0 mtDNA haplogroups, but also a rare basal variant of the R1b1 Y-chromosomal haplogroup. Genome-wide analyses demonstrate that these people had a significant Yamnaya-derived (i.e. steppe) ancestry component and a close genetic resemblance to the Corded Ware (and related) groups that were present in large parts of Northern and Central Europe at the time. Assuming that the Gjerrild skeletons are genetically representative of the population of the SGC in broader terms, the transition from the local Neolithic Funnel Beaker Culture (TRB) to SGC is not characterized by demographic continuity. Rather, the emergence of SGC in Denmark was part of the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age population expansion that swept across the European continent in the 3rd millennium BCE, resulting in various degrees of genetic replacement and admixture processes with previous Neolithic populations