# Reconstruction of the lifeways of Central European Late Bronze Age communities using ancient DNA, isotope and osteoarchaeological analyses

## TL;DR

This study uses DNA, isotopes, and bones to explore the lifeways of Central European Bronze Age communities, revealing local traditions and regional connections.

## Contribution

The integration of multiple biomolecular methods with inhumation burials provides new insights into Bronze Age mobility and cultural practices.

## Key findings

- Genetic continuity with Early Bronze Age populations was observed alongside regional differences in ancestry.
- Most individuals matched local isotope signals, suggesting limited mobility despite cultural interconnectedness.
- Inhumation practices reflect local traditions rather than new genetic influxes.

## Abstract

The Late Bronze Age (ca. 1300–800 BCE) of Central Europe is often characterised as a period of increasing mobility, socioeconomic transformation, environmental fluctuations, and expanding cultural networks. However, reconstructing the demographic aspects of these changes has been hindered by cremation being the dominant mortuary practice, limiting biomolecular approaches. Here, we integrate ancient DNA, oxygen and strontium isotope analyses, and osteoarchaeology to examine rare inhumation burials from Kuckenburg and Esperstedt in Central Germany (n = 36) and compare them to contemporaneous inhumations from the neighbouring regions of South Germany, Bohemia (Czechia) and Southwest/Central Poland (n = 33). Genome-wide data show genetic continuity with preceding Early Bronze Age populations, alongside gradual increases in Early European Farmer-related ancestry, albeit with regionally different timing and extent, reflecting a nuanced pattern of mobility and admixture. Oxygen and strontium isotope data from Central Germany indicate that most individuals match the local isotope signal, including those who were cremated or had a different diet, and with only a few isotopic outliers, suggesting that mobility was present but not extensive. Overall, our findings suggest that the diverse inhumation practices at Kuckenburg and Esperstedt were culturally motivated, reflecting local traditions and ongoing regional interconnectedness rather than the influx of new genetic groups or non-local individuals.

Biomolecular insights into significant cultural changes during the Central European Late Bronze Age (1300–800 BCE) have been limited by cremation. Here, the authors examine available inhumation burials with ancient DNA, stable isotopes, and osteoarchaeology to identify regional traditions and interconnectedness.