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Analysis of ancient wooden tools from Germany
Results from the analysis of more than 700 pieces of prehistoric wood from Schöningen 13, Germany, have revealed that they had been transported from at least 3-5km away. A variety of techniques were used to investigate their materials and production techniques, finding that the wood used was selected from hard and elastic species of tree, rather than species located closer to the site. This suggests considerable planning was involved in the creation of tools. Excavations on the site, known as the ‘Spear Horizon’ owing to the 300,000-year-old spears that formed part of the assemblage, finished in 2008. The findings from the analysis were recently published in PNAS https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2320484121.
Steppe warrior kinship and marriage practices revealed through DNA
New DNA analysis on 424 individuals from the Avar empire is revealing details about kinship and marriage practices on the Great Hungarian Plain some 1,500 years ago. The results encompass nine generations and four cemetery sites, and have shown that patrilineal descent played an important role in society. A realignment of power is also shown to have occurred at the largest of the studied sites in the mid-7th century, evidenced by a shift in DNA from one predominant male lineage to another. The findings of the study were recently published in Nature and are available to read at
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07312-4.
A surprising Swedish coin hoard
Excavations at a church on the Swedish island of Visingsö have uncovered an unexpected hoard of 170 early medieval coins. Archaeologists from the county museum were surprised to find the coins in the burial of a 20- to 25-year-old male, since grave goods like this are rarely found in Christian burials. Initial studies of the hoard have revealed a date of c.AD 1150-1180. Excitingly, some of the coin types are currently unknown in the numismatic record, suggesting that the site has potential to improve understanding of the early medieval period in this region.
Text: Rebecca Preedy
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