TY - JOUR

T1 - Vittrup Man–The life-history of a genetic foreigner in Neolithic Denmark

AU - Fischer, Anders

AU - Sjögren, Karl-Göran

AU - Jensen, Theis Zetner Trolle

AU - Jørkov, Marie Louise

AU - Lysdahl, Per

AU - Vimala, Tharsika

AU - Refoyo-martínez, Alba

AU - Scorrano, Gabriele

AU - Price, T. Douglas

AU - Gröcke, Darren R.

AU - Gotfredsen, Anne Birgitte

AU - Sørensen, Lasse

AU - Alexandersen, Verner

AU - Wåhlin, Sidsel

AU - Stenderup, Jesper

AU - Bennike, Ole

AU - Ingason, Andrés

AU - Iversen, Rune

AU - Sikora, Martin

AU - Racimo, Fernando

AU - Willerslev, Eske

AU - Allentoft, Morten E.

AU - Kristiansen, Kristian

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - The lethally maltreated body of Vittrup Man was deposited in a Danish bog, probably as part of a ritualised sacrifice. It happened between c. 3300 and 3100 cal years BC, i.e., during the period of the local farming-based Funnel Beaker Culture. In terms of skull morphological features, he differs from the majority of the contemporaneous farmers found in Denmark, and associates with hunter-gatherers, who inhabited Scandinavia during the previous millennia. His skeletal remains were selected for transdisciplinary analysis to reveal his life-history in terms of a population historical perspective. We report the combined results of an integrated set of genetic, isotopic, physical anthropological and archaeological analytical approaches. Strontium signature suggests a foreign birthplace that could be in Norway or Sweden. In addition, enamel oxygen isotope values indicate that as a child he lived in a colder climate, i.e., to the north of the regions inhabited by farmers. Genomic data in fact demonstrates that he is closely related to Mesolithic humans known from Norway and Sweden. Moreover, dietary stable isotope analyses on enamel and bone collagen demonstrate a fisher-hunter way of life in his childhood and a diet typical of farmers later on. Such a variable life-history is also reflected by proteomic analysis of hardened organic deposits on his teeth, indicating the consumption of forager food (seal, whale and marine fish) as well as farmer food (sheep/goat). From a dietary isotopic transect of one of his teeth it is shown that his transfer between societies of foragers and farmers took place near to the end of his teenage years.

AB - The lethally maltreated body of Vittrup Man was deposited in a Danish bog, probably as part of a ritualised sacrifice. It happened between c. 3300 and 3100 cal years BC, i.e., during the period of the local farming-based Funnel Beaker Culture. In terms of skull morphological features, he differs from the majority of the contemporaneous farmers found in Denmark, and associates with hunter-gatherers, who inhabited Scandinavia during the previous millennia. His skeletal remains were selected for transdisciplinary analysis to reveal his life-history in terms of a population historical perspective. We report the combined results of an integrated set of genetic, isotopic, physical anthropological and archaeological analytical approaches. Strontium signature suggests a foreign birthplace that could be in Norway or Sweden. In addition, enamel oxygen isotope values indicate that as a child he lived in a colder climate, i.e., to the north of the regions inhabited by farmers. Genomic data in fact demonstrates that he is closely related to Mesolithic humans known from Norway and Sweden. Moreover, dietary stable isotope analyses on enamel and bone collagen demonstrate a fisher-hunter way of life in his childhood and a diet typical of farmers later on. Such a variable life-history is also reflected by proteomic analysis of hardened organic deposits on his teeth, indicating the consumption of forager food (seal, whale and marine fish) as well as farmer food (sheep/goat). From a dietary isotopic transect of one of his teeth it is shown that his transfer between societies of foragers and farmers took place near to the end of his teenage years.

KW - Faculty of Humanities

KW - aDNA

KW - genetic ancestry

KW - Neolithic

KW - Mesolithic

KW - Stable isotope analysis

KW - Funnel Beaker culture

KW - Life-history

KW - Denmark

KW - Norway

KW - Vendsyssel

KW - bog skeleton

KW - violence

KW - hunter-fisher-gatherer

KW - farmer

U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0297032

DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0297032

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 38354111

VL - 19

SP - 1

EP - 27

JO - PLoS ONE

JF - PLoS ONE

SN - 1932-6203

IS - 2

ER -