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Researchers from AU and LU receive important grant from Svenska Riksbankens Jubileumsfond

Anna Tornberg (LU) & Helle Vandkilde (AU) have received SEK 4,897,000 from Svenska Riksbankens Jubileumsfond for the research project: Violence and Warfare in the Nordic Corded Ware Complex 2900-2300 BCE.

The last decade of archaeo-genetic research has revealed substantial biocultural changes setting forth in Europe around and after 2900 BCE. In the Nordic region, the First Farmer population vanished, fled into retreats or became absorbed by Corded Ware lineages of the newcomers whose genetic ancestry traces back to pastoralists of the Eurasian Steppe. Researchers currently discuss causes, effects and timelines. The RJ project will investigate the role of violence at scales from household to tribe and from local to interregional. Trauma-pathological changes to skeletal remains will be compared with the archaeological record of notably weapon graves (battle-axes, arrow projectiles). In collaboration with colleagues, we will begin with so-called Battle-Axe cemeteries in Scania and then proceed to Denmark and Germany. We expect to clarify the level of violence compared to ‘before’ and ‘after’ including fluctuations at different scales: who were at risk of violence and the degree to which violence linked to warfare and militarization. Genomic and meta-genomic analyses will thereto be able to inform about the role of kinship organization, infectious disease (e.g. Y. pestis) and the areas in Europe from where the Nordic branches of the Corded Ware complex originated. High-resolution Sr isotope analysis will capture migration histories at the individual level hence nuancing population dynamics revealed by aDNA.


Contact AU: 
Helle Vandkilde
School of Culture and Society - Department of Archeology and Heritage Studies
Moesgård Allé 20
building 4215, 132
8270 Højbjerg
farkhv@cas.au.dk

Phone: +4587162096
Mobile: +4521727240

Contact LU:
Anna Tornberg
Lund University
anna.tornberg@ark.lu.se


Svenska Riksbankens Jubileumsfond:  Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ) is an independent foundation with the goal of promoting and supporting research in the Humanities and Social Sciences.