Human remains at excavation sites in southern Germany have shown the structure of the hierarchy in Bronze Age Europe.
Researchers at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University and the Max Planck Institute in Germany have teamed up on the major project of analyzing remains from 104 graves where there have been farms south of Augsburg.
The oldest graves are 4,750 years old, while the youngest are 3,300 years old.
In addition to dating the graves, DNA samples were taken to determine kinship.
Social division took place within the household
In addition, different isotopes of the element strontium were measured in the teeth. The ratio of strontium isotopes can show where the person originated, because there are different amounts of the isotopes in water and plants in different places.
The results showed that a certain core of residents on a farm was family, but in addition there were unrelated people.
Bronze Age in Europe
- Time: From about 2000 B.C. to about 550 AD
- Name: Derived from the alloy of tin and copper that was widespread at the time.
- Community: Scattered farms, villages and market places.
- Management: Principality.
Members of the family often took valuable artifacts with them to the grave. The researchers conclude that the family owned the farm, but other household members were laborers or even slaves.
Different graves of rich and poor
That the rich and the poor lived under the same roof was first known among the ancient Greeks only 1,500 years later.
The researchers were able to follow up to five generations on each farm and it became clear that the farm was passed down from father to son.
The mothers usually came from elsewhere, often from 350 km away.
