Remains of Vittrap Man’s skull. At least eight hard blows shattered his skull and he sank into the swamp. Photo: Stephen Freiheit. Credit: Fischer et al., 2024, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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Remains of Vittrap Man’s skull. At least eight heavy blows shattered his skull and he sank into the swamp. Photo: Stephen Freiheit. Credit: Fischer et al., 2024, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
According to a study published in , Wittlap Man was born along the coast of Scandinavia, then moved to Denmark, where he was later sacrificed. Pro Swan By Anders Fischer and colleagues at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.
Vitlapman is the nickname for a Stone Age skeleton discovered in a peat bog in northwestern Denmark and dated to between 3300 and 3100 BC. The fragmentary nature of the remains, including a crushed skull, indicates that he was killed in a ritual sacrifice that was common in the area at the time.
After DNA studies revealed that Wittlap Man’s genetic signature was distinct from modern local skeletons, Fisher et al. combined additional evidence to reconstruct the life history of this Stone Age individual in unprecedented resolution. I came up with the idea of rebuilding it.
Strontium, carbon, and oxygen isotopes in Wittlap Mann’s tooth enamel indicate that he spent his childhood along the coast of the Scandinavian Peninsula. In support of this, genetic analysis has revealed a close relationship between Wittlap humans and the Mesolithic peoples of Norway and Sweden. Additional analyzes of isotopes and proteins in teeth and bones revealed a shift in diet from a coastal diet (marine mammals and fish) in early life to a farm diet (such as sheep and goats) in later life, which occurred in the late teens. It shows the transition.
The end of Vitlap Man. Credit: Anders Fischer (content) and Niels Bach (drawings), CC-BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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The end of Vitlap Man. Credit: Anders Fischer (content) and Niels Bach (drawings), CC-BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
These results suggest that Wittlap Man spent his childhood in a northern foraging society before migrating to an agricultural society in Denmark. It is not clear why this man moved, but the authors suggest that he may have been a trader who integrated into local society or a prisoner of war. Mysteries about the Wittlap man remain, but a detailed understanding of his geographic and dietary history provides new insights into the interactions between Mesolithic and Neolithic societies in Europe. To do.
The authors added: “To our knowledge, this is the first study that has been able to map the life history of northern European populations in such detail and over such a long period of time.”
For more information:
Wittrup Mann – Life History of Genetic Aliens in Neolithic Denmark, PLoS ONE (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297032
Magazine information:
PLoS ONE