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Cited by 3Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology StudiesAncient and Medieval Archaeology StudiesArchaeology and ancient environmental studies

Modelling age at death reveals Nordic Corded Ware paleodemography

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Tornberg, Anna, Vandkilde, Helle·2025·Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences
DOI 10.1007/s12520-024-02159-2
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Abstract

Abstract Drawing on modelling of age at death in skeletal remains, this article unveils hitherto unrecognized demographic patterns in the Nordic Corded Ware complex. This population formed part of the European Corded Ware complex that has been linked to disruption observed in the archaeological and genetic record. The newly developed methods of transition analysis 3 (TA3) and death rate ratio (DRR) were used to process skeletal data from 67 individuals deriving from single, double, and multiple graves in Scandinavia. The results disclose a high proportion of immature individuals aged less than twenty years. Attrition, however, complies with a demography with high age-nonspecific mortality, and this may connect to stressors such as epidemic diseases and endemic warfare. Compared to the partly contemporaneous Pitted Ware complex and the succeeding Late Neolithic–earliest Bronze Age period, the Nordic Corded Ware burials overall point to robust population growth, especially in the later period. This in turn aligns with a sedentary lifestyle rather than a mobile pastoral economy. Short-distance seasonal movements could fit in but cannot yet be measured. Recent genetics have demonstrated biological input in the female line from populations such as Funnel Beaker, Pitted Ware, and herders of the steppe forest zone: the remarkable tallness of Nordic Corded Ware individuals may well be an effect of such admixture. The burials moreover evidence a distinct adult male sex bias, which diminishes over time along with the growth in the number of buried females and young individuals. Judging from investment in graves and grave goods, immatures were highly valued. The scale of social status operates independently of age. Alongside the revealed Nordic Corded Ware demography and the burial and material record more broadly, this could indicate social inequality based on kinship and warrior values.

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  • High population pressure, competition over resources, and interactions between indigenous Mesolithic groups and incoming Neolithic farming communities often resulted in violent confrontations of varying scale.

    “High population pressure, competition over resources, and interactions between indigenous Mesolithic groups and incoming Neolithic farming communities often resulted in violent confrontations of varying scale59,60]65–68.”

    From Evidence of neolithic cannibalism among farming communities at El Mirador cave, Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain (2025) · cites this paper as [60]

    The ‘Nordic Corded Ware: genetics and archaeology’ section links defensive enclosures and weapons to friction among social groups, while ‘Society and burial’ reports skeletal evidence of violence. But the paper describes a still thinly populated landscape, not high population pressure, and does not establish resource competition or frequent violent confrontations between indigenous Mesolithic groups and incoming Neolithic farmers. Page numbers were not provided in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The Neolithic period is increasingly recognised as one marked by conflict and instability, driven by profound social and demographic transformations linked to the shift from foraging to farming.

    “This period is increasingly recognised as one marked by conflict and instability, driven by profound social and demographic transformations linked to the shift from foraging to farming.”

    From Evidence of neolithic cannibalism among farming communities at El Mirador cave, Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain (2025) · cites this paper as [60]

    The ‘Nordic Corded Ware: genetics and archaeology’ and ‘Society and burial’ sections (pages not provided) describe social friction, warfare, and demographic disruption in third-millennium Scandinavia. They do not establish that conflict across the Neolithic was driven by a shift from foraging to farming; the paper instead describes the replacement of existing Neolithic farmers by groups with pastoralist ancestry. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • A similar age pattern is observed at Neolithic sites in central Europe, where mass violent events involving entire communities or family groups have been recorded.

    “A similar age pattern is observed at Neolithic sites in central Europe, where mass violent events involving entire communities or family groups have been recorded59,60.”

    From Evidence of neolithic cannibalism among farming communities at El Mirador cave, Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain (2025) · cites this paper as [60]

    The Population section discusses age-at-death patterns in Nordic Corded Ware groups and considers violence as one possible explanation. The Society and burial section describes Nordic burials, but neither section documents a comparable age pattern or mass violent events involving whole communities or family groups at central European Neolithic sites. Searches for those central European events and age patterns found no passage addressing them; page numbers were unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Authors
Tornberg, A., & Vandkilde, H.
Affiliations
  • Lund University (SE)
  • Aarhus University (DK)
Corresponding author
Tornberg, Anna
ORCID
Venue
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2025-01-20
Volume
17
Issue
2
ISSN
  • 1866-9557 (ISSN-L)
  • 1866-9565
DOI
10.1007/s12520-024-02159-2
OpenAlex
W4406625241
Cited by
3
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1
FWCI
7.75
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Research Square (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • Lund University Publications (Lund University) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Lund University
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
Keywords
paleodemography, age at death, immature individuals, social status, grave goods, Late Neolithic, Early Bronze Age, population growth, epidemic mortality, war, admixture, Scandinavia

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