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Interdisciplinary analyses of the remains from three gallery graves at Kinnekulle : tracing Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age societies in inland Southwestern Sweden

Blank, Malou ; Tornberg, Anna LU orcid ; Sjögren, Karl-Göran ; Knipper, Corina ; Frei, Karin M ; Malmström, Helena ; Fraser, Magdalena and Storå, Jan (2023) In Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 15(7).
Abstract
In this paper, we investigate the Scandinavian Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of Kinnekulle in southwestern Sweden. The above-mentioned periods in the study area are poorly understood and the archaeological record consists of a few stray finds and a concentration of 20 gallery graves. This study focuses on three of the gallery graves where commingled skeletons from successive burials were recovered. The human remains and the artefacts from the graves were used for discussing individual life stories as well as living societies with the aim of gaining new knowledge of the last part of the Neolithic and the beginning of the Early Bronze Age in southwestern Sweden. We focused on questions concerning health and trauma, mobility and... (More)
In this paper, we investigate the Scandinavian Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of Kinnekulle in southwestern Sweden. The above-mentioned periods in the study area are poorly understood and the archaeological record consists of a few stray finds and a concentration of 20 gallery graves. This study focuses on three of the gallery graves where commingled skeletons from successive burials were recovered. The human remains and the artefacts from the graves were used for discussing individual life stories as well as living societies with the aim of gaining new knowledge of the last part of the Neolithic and the beginning of the Early Bronze Age in southwestern Sweden. We focused on questions concerning health and trauma, mobility and exchange networks, and diet and subsistence of the people using the graves. Chronological, bioarchaeological, and biomolecular aspects of the burials were approached through the application of archaeological and osteological studies, as well as stable isotope, strontium isotope, radiocarbon, and mtDNA analyses. The study provides evidence for high mobility and diverse diets, as well as inhumations primarily dated to the transition between the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. We suggest that the mountain plateau of Kinnekulle was mainly reserved for the dead, while the people lived in agriculture-based groups in the surrounding lower lying regions. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences
volume
15
issue
7
pages
29 pages
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • scopus:85161033649
ISSN
1866-9565
DOI
10.1007/s12520-023-01793-6
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0410f0aa-e639-41a9-b812-57430af52300
date added to LUP
2023-06-08 19:27:51
date last changed
2023-10-26 15:03:17
@article{0410f0aa-e639-41a9-b812-57430af52300,
  abstract     = {{In this paper, we investigate the Scandinavian Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of Kinnekulle in southwestern Sweden. The above-mentioned periods in the study area are poorly understood and the archaeological record consists of a few stray finds and a concentration of 20 gallery graves. This study focuses on three of the gallery graves where commingled skeletons from successive burials were recovered. The human remains and the artefacts from the graves were used for discussing individual life stories as well as living societies with the aim of gaining new knowledge of the last part of the Neolithic and the beginning of the Early Bronze Age in southwestern Sweden. We focused on questions concerning health and trauma, mobility and exchange networks, and diet and subsistence of the people using the graves. Chronological, bioarchaeological, and biomolecular aspects of the burials were approached through the application of archaeological and osteological studies, as well as stable isotope, strontium isotope, radiocarbon, and mtDNA analyses. The study provides evidence for high mobility and diverse diets, as well as inhumations primarily dated to the transition between the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. We suggest that the mountain plateau of Kinnekulle was mainly reserved for the dead, while the people lived in agriculture-based groups in the surrounding lower lying regions.}},
  author       = {{Blank, Malou and Tornberg, Anna and Sjögren, Karl-Göran and Knipper, Corina and Frei, Karin M and Malmström, Helena and Fraser, Magdalena and Storå, Jan}},
  issn         = {{1866-9565}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  number       = {{7}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences}},
  title        = {{Interdisciplinary analyses of the remains from three gallery graves at Kinnekulle : tracing Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age societies in inland Southwestern Sweden}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/150089931/s12520_023_01793_6.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s12520-023-01793-6}},
  volume       = {{15}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}