Reconstructing Life History

New Palaeodemographic Insights into Final Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Populations in Southwest Germany

Abstract

Reconstructing Life History. New Palaeodemographic Insights into Final Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Populations in Southwest Germany

During the third to mid-second millennia BC in Europe, human culture witnessed dramatic changes. Various studies indicate that this sociocultural shift had complex and regionally variable biological impacts. Hence, palaeodemographic analyses of age-at-death and sex from human skeletal remains provide valuable insights into life span and mortality. This study reconstructs the demographic profile of 322 Final Neolithic (Corded Ware culture) and Early Bronze Age (Neckar group) individuals from 17 sites in Baden-Württemberg (Southwest Germany) by using life tables. The results indicate diachronic changes in mortality and life expectancy of infant individuals, and juvenile and adult females accompanied by regional variations. This suggests generally improving living conditions from the Final Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age, except for increased mortality in Early Bronze Age juveniles potentially related to adolescent pregnancies.