Muddying the Waters: reconsidering Migration in the Neolithic of Britain, Ireland and Denmark

Vicki Cummings, Daniela Hofmann, Mathias Paul Bjørnevad-Ahlqvist, Rune Iversen*

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

This paper explores the current narratives of migration for the start and spread of the Neolithic with a particular focus on the role that the new ancient DNA data have provided. While the genetic data are important and instructive, here it is argued that archaeologists should also consider other strands of evidence. More nuanced appreciations of migration as a long-term process can be created by exploring modern mobility studies alongside considerations of continued mobility throughout the Neolithic in Europe. We can also re-interpret the material evidence itself in the light of these approaches to help trace multiple possible links and migrations from multiple different origin points. This involves the investigation of complex, but connected, practices, such as monument construction and deposition across wider areas of northern Europe than are currently normally investigated. Such an approach will enable us to address long-term processes of movement, migration and interaction and investigate how new, shared social experiences emerged in a setting in which mobility and migration may have been the norm.
Original languageEnglish
JournalDanish Journal of Archaeology
Volume11
Pages (from-to)1-25
ISSN2166-2282
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Keywords

  • Faculty of Humanities
  • Early Neolithic
  • Migration and mobility
  • aDNA-produced narratives
  • Practice-based approach
  • The North Sea
  • Monuments

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