About 5,200 years ago, a man was brutally murdered in northwestern Denmark and thrown into a Danish peat bog. Now, new cutting-edge genetic technology has revealed the extraordinary story of Denmark’s oldest known immigrant, the ‘Wittlapman’.
Researchers have been fascinated by bog bodies and mummified remains found in Northern Europe for some time. Now, a new study claims to be the first to extensively track the life histories of individuals who have died.
In 1915, workers discovered the body of Wittlap Mann in a peat bog in Denmark. He received a fatal blow to his head with a wooden club around 3100-3300 BC.
Researchers then analyzed his DNA and discovered that he was genetically different from the Stone Age people of Denmark. The results of this study were published in the journal PLOS One.
Lead researcher Anders Fischer wanted to humanize Wittlap Mann and decipher his life story. They could deduce that he traveled from a hunter-gatherer along the Scandinavian coast to a farmer in Denmark.
His diet had changed, as shown by chemical analysis of his teeth and bones. It probably ranged from a diet of seafood to a diet of livestock origin.
Wittlap Man may have made a long journey by ship, perhaps from Norway or Sweden to Denmark and back. He may have been a prisoner of war, a trader, or a victim.
The purpose of his death is unknown, but researchers agree that he may have been a victim or involved in a conflict.
However, the story of the Wittlap Man gives us very good information about our past, showing us the genetics, lifestyle, and rituals of prehistoric societies.