欧洲的青铜时代亦称“欧洲的第一个黄金时代”，这一时期，得益于远程交流的活跃，技术创新、社会变革和知识传播突飞猛进。鉴于其重要性，各个领域的学者们都密切关注青铜时代 ，但至今仍有许多问题无法解答。解答青铜时代社会诸多谜题的关键在于理解远程交流和古代人的流动性。在斯堪的纳维亚半岛，北欧青铜时代（公元前1700-500）的历史文化遗存仍在地表清晰可见，其中包括不可胜数的墓冢、祭祀还愿堆积和岩画等。除此以外，丹麦还有大量令人称奇的保存完好的人类遗存：例如著名的橡木棺人。这些古人遗骸代表的是史前时期的社会精英，这一至关重要的时期是今天的欧洲雏形的产生阶段。这些遗骸对于理解世界史上这一重要时期国际贸易网络的建立和维护至关重要。横跨整个北欧地区的外来手工制品的出现暗示着该地与遥远地区之间的密切联系，目前还不知道这些外来产品的流动发生在相邻的酋邦之间（低流动性），还是通过一些远途旅行的人携带而来（高流动性）。更有甚者，长期以来，人们认为北欧的青铜时代人类的活动力非常有限，甚至认为较强的人类流动性是由男性战士完成的。

由于古DNA和锶同位素(87Sr/86Sr)分析的突出贡献，关于古人迁徙的研究发生了一场知识革命。古DNA分析的是大年代和地域框架下的人类迁徙，锶同位素分析则为个体迁移提供了重要信息，从而为确定某些特定遗址的人类迁徙提供了可能性。 最近，通过牙釉质（抑或骨骼）的锶同位素(87Sr/86Sr)分析，史前人类的流动性个体案例研究取得了极大成功。基于若干年的个体平均饮食消费，牙釉质（例如第一臼齿）分析揭示了个体地缘背景，进而提供了可供追踪远程移动的比值。我们进而发展出能够应用于头发和指甲的分析方法。这些新进展为探索以月为单位的短程人类流动提供了前所未有的机遇，古代个体流动性研究的精度飞速提升，从以若干年为单位提高到以月为单位。因此，我们可以把某一个个体的短程和长程的流动性加以确认和区分，从而复原一个人一生的运动轨迹，辨认出其复杂的旅行过程。这些分析结果给古代人类研究打开了一扇新的窗口，为提升对于古代社会动力机制的了解创造了巨大潜力。新技术的出现与前沿技术的应用，开启了新的故事之门，使博物馆收藏的人类遗骨重新焕发出生机。

橡木棺葬

欧洲的青铜时代见证了国家形成和城市化的最初阶段。这一阶段的特征之一是由精英团体发起的知识的转变与传播 。在丹麦早期北欧青铜时代传统中，社会精英以橡木棺葬入墓穴，墓上建封堆。高等级墓葬中保存的人类遗骸是欧洲保存最好的史前人类遗骸。封堆既保护了墓穴，又令其在地表显而易见，便于后辈够缅怀先人。在整个青铜时代，一个封堆可能被后续的墓葬反复利用。一座或者一组封堆实际上可能是一处墓地，人们反复回到此地埋入新的死者，绵延数百年。今天这些封堆仍然在地表显著可见，是见证欧洲最早的全球化历程的史前社会的生动记忆。

青铜时代女性之谜研究项目

“青铜时代女性之谜”是一个为期三年的多学科研究项目（2016-2019），该项目旨在探索丹麦青铜时代女性的流动性、身份和社会角色。项目以上述保存完好的橡木棺为出发点，探索北欧青铜时代最具代表性的人物和主题。该项目肇始于令人称奇的最具标志性的橡木棺葬女性“艾格特福德少女”（发表于2015年），为史前时期单个个体的远程移动提供了最早的证据。艾格特福德少女的衣服上的羊毛纤维被证实来自远离她的葬身之所的某地。

随之而来的问题是，艾格特福德少女的惊人发现仅仅只是案例吗？还是那个时期的其他女性也都有同样的远距离旅行的经历？尽管这个问题似乎不可能得到答案，丹麦仍然有条件为这个引人入胜的话题提供一些线索，因为这里有保存良好的橡木棺精英女性墓葬，其中两名（分别命名为斯克吕斯楚普女尸和博拉姆·埃肖女尸）的状态尤为良好。这两项发现都与艾格特福德少女年代相近，埋葬方式也一致，都是封堆下的橡木棺葬。

此外，“青铜时代女性之谜”旨在从微观到宏观角度探索青铜时代女性，为她们生活的方方面面提供新的知识，研究的问题如下：

1. 青铜时代女性的流动性如何？A) 微观层面： 高精度青铜时代精英女性个体移动性，以斯克吕斯楚普女尸和博拉姆·埃肖女尸的案例研究为例；B) 宏观层面：大量个体的移动性，包括用以比较的男性和儿童。
2. 青铜时代的女性在远程贸易网络中是否扮演某种特殊角色？
3. 我们能否确认青铜时代女性的不同身份？

我们运用了一系列当前最尖端的科技考古方法来解答这些问题，其中包括放射性同位素分析（87Sr/86Sr）、稳定同位素分析（δ13C and δ15N）、显微分析、法医学分析（包括CT扫描）、古DNA分析以及相应的考古学背景研究。这些方法手段协同增效，为我们理解这些精英女性的生活及其所处的社会的动力机制提供了全新的、多层次的信息

斯克吕斯楚普女尸之谜

斯克吕斯楚普女尸出土于1935年丹麦南部墓冢。墓冢建于北欧早期青铜时代（公元前1700-1100），由多层倒置的草皮垒建而成，底部环绕石墙。部分青铜时代墓冢内部的富铁层构成了一个饱水的厌氧环境，从而达到密封墓室的效果，斯克吕斯楚普大冢即属此类，这种环境使有机物得以完好保存。斯克吕斯楚普女尸的墓冢是一组八座墓葬之一，这具遗骸是该墓冢的主要埋葬内容，其骨骼甚至软组织保存良好，后者包括部分脸颊、下颌、眉毛、眼皮、眼睫毛和她的长发。至今只有头发保留下来。长达60厘米，斯克吕斯楚普女尸的头发梳成极其复杂的发型，不属于当地的典型发式。她的骨骼，尤其是牙齿的大部分都保存完好。

像其它橡木棺葬一样，斯克吕斯楚普女尸安置于牛皮之上，她身穿一件短袖羊毛衬衣，袖口和领口有刺绣装饰，从腰到踝裹有一条方形羊毛织物，以带系于腰间。另外，她还戴有一顶羊毛软帽、腰带上系有一枚角梳，耳旁有一对大型螺旋形金耳环。

对斯克吕斯楚普女尸遗存进行的体质人类学研究最早开始于1939年。首次牙科检查表明除了智齿之外，她的牙齿全部可见。上颌中的智齿尚未完全发育，下颌的智齿尚未萌出。牙齿状况良好，没有任何龋齿和其它牙科疾病。因此推测这具遗骸属于一名不超过20岁的青年女性。

我们基于骨学材料评估标准对她进行了体质人类学分析，同时采用了CT 影像和3D可视化技术。性别判断是基于标准体质人类学技术，建立在髋骨、骶骨形态学特征，股骨头最大径以及长骨形态等判断的基础之上。在所有这些新的研究基础之上，我们重新估算了斯克吕斯楚普女尸的死亡年龄，对长骨骨骺愈合情况、骨盆带、骶骨边缘以及牙齿的发育和萌出情况都进行了重新评估。两组研究都认为她的可能死亡年龄在17-18岁，她在同时代属于较高个体（接近1.7米）。

我们对斯克吕斯楚普女尸的一枚第一臼齿和一枚第三臼齿（智齿）的牙釉质进行了锶同位素分析。人类牙釉质的耐岩化性使其成为考古学追踪人类迁徙的重要材料。第一臼齿的釉质在胚胎期形成，最终于三岁左右矿化，因此它提供了个体童年出身的信息。反之，第三臼齿的牙冠变量更大，代表的是从青春期早期直到约16岁之间的长时段。我们同时提取了这两枚牙齿，以便创造一个长时段的时间表，与斯克吕斯楚普女尸生前曾经居住过的地方相对应。

由于现代人的头发大约每个月生长1厘米，通过多学科的追踪调查，头发实际上可以提供高精度的饮食和活动历时信息 。由于斯克吕斯楚普女尸复杂的发型及其埋藏地点独特的考古学特征，需要在获得可靠锶同位素分析所需的样品量和文物保护之间达成平衡。为了实现头发的锶同位素研究，我们将长达42.5厘米的头发截成17段，代表了死亡之前51个月的生长周期。

我们的锶同位素分析结果显示，斯克吕斯楚普女尸来自遥远的外地，她的出身地与埋葬地相聚遥远。她的部分头发片段的锶同位素比值为本地值，但也有部分片段的锶同位素值与她的牙齿所记录的稍高的非本地比值接近。有趣的是，锶同位素比值的差异出现在死亡前47到42个月之间。我们推想这种相对较短的时间段所表示的是斯克吕斯楚普女尸从丹麦以外的地方移动到斯克吕斯楚普所需的时间。这个时期之后的头发片段上的锶同位素比值（代表的是死亡之前约40周之后）与本地比值相同。后者的范围与当地独有的同位素斯克吕斯楚普生物利用同位素值相符合。这说明进入斯克吕斯楚普地区之后，她很可能在斯克吕斯楚普度过余生。

为了对斯克吕斯楚普女尸生前的饮食获取更多信息，我们对一段12厘米长的头发样品进行了稳定同位素分析。基于 δ13C 和 δ15N的同位素数据被认为是饮食导致的，因此，可以用来区分古人是陆地型还是海洋型饮食结构。稳定同位素分析同时也可以对饮食的季节变化提供信息，可以确定生理学影响。这些分析表明斯克吕斯楚普女尸是陆地型饮食，有季节性变化。也对一小段头发进行了古DNA分析。

The European Bronze Age, often referred to as “The First Golden Age of Europe” was a period of technical innovation, social transformation and the transmission of knowledge all of which were highly stimulated by long distance connections. Due to its importance, the Bronze Age has been extensively investigated by researchers from a great many different fields. However, there are still many key questions that remain unanswered. It follows, therefore, that many of those enigmas center around long-distance exchange and degrees of ancient mobility as integral themes to creating an understanding of Bronze Age society.  In Scandinavia, the Nordic Bronze Age (1.700 – 500 BC) has clear and easily recognizable cultural remains in the everyday landscape including the numerous burial barrows, votive depositions and rock carvings. In addition to these impressive cultural remnants, Denmark also possesses a unique collection of exceptionally well-preserved human remains: the well-known oak-coffin people. These ancient men and women represent the elite from a crucial prehistoric period; a period in which the first inklings of modern day Europe began to take shape. These individuals are key to understanding how international trade networks were established and maintained during this important time period in world history. While the presence of exotic artifacts across Northern Europe indicates extensive connections with distant areas, scholars do not know whether those exotic objects were traded from neighboring chiefdom to neighboring chiefdom (low mobility) or whether they were transported by individuals who themselves travelled long trajectories across the Continent (high mobility). Furthermore, it has long been assumed that human mobility in the Nordic Bronze Age was very restricted. Additionally, it was thought that if human mobility took place, then it was most likely performed by male warriors.

Ancient human migration studies are currently witnessing a knowledge revolution brought about mainly by contributions from ancient DNA (aDNA) and strontium isotope analyses (87Sr/86Sr). While aDNA analyses have provided new evidence for migrations on a larger chronological and geographical scale, strontium isotope analyses have yielded information on the migration of single individuals. This last allows for the identification of migrants at specific sites. Until very recently, the prehistoric human mobility of single individuals has been investigated most successfully via the strontium isotope analysis (87Sr/86Sr) of tooth enamel (and sometimes bone). Tooth enamel reveal (e.g. first molar) a geographical origin based on an individual’s average diet consumption over several years. Consequently, these tissues can provide a signature by which it is possible to trace long-term mobility. We have further developed the method so that it may now be applied to hair and nail tissues. These new advancements have created an unprecedented opportunity to investigate short-term human mobility on a monthly basis. Hence, in a single step, the level of detail at which we can study the mobility of single individuals in the past has skyrocketed, moving from an average of several years’ worth of information to a month-by-month resolution. As a result, we are now able to identify and differentiate between short-and long-term mobility for the same individual, thereby furnishing a life-long record of mobility in which it is possible to identify complex travel schedule. These analyses consequently open a new window to the past and have great potential to heighten our knowledge of past social dynamics. The arrival of new techniques with other cutting-edge technologies open up new stories and new about the human remains within museum collections.

The Oak Coffin-burials

The European Bronze Age witness the beginning of state formation and early stages of urbanization. It was a period characterized by the transformation and the transmission of knowledge triggered by elite alliances (among other things). In Denmark’s Early Nordic Bronze Age tradition, elites were buried in oak-coffin graves covered by monumental barrows. The remains of those high-status individuals number among Europe’s best preserved prehistoric human burials. The barrows under which the deceased were interred both protected the graves they covered while also making them more visible in the landscape. This ensured that the memory of the dead would be preserved for coming generations. Throughout the Bronze Age a particular barrow would be repeatedly utilized for subsequent burials. An individual barrow or group of barrows came to constitute a burial site to which people returned and in which they placed their dead for centuries. Today, these barrows -which still remain very visible in the landscape- are vivid memories of a prehistoric society that witnessed the first signs of globalization in Europe.

The Tales of Bronze Age Women Research Project

“Tales of Bronze Age Women” is a threeyear multi-disciplinary research project (2016-2019) that investigates the mobility, identity and social roles of Bronze Age Women in Denmark. The project takes its point of departure in the well preserved oak-coffin graves described above and uses them as a means of investigating some of the most iconic figures and themes from the Nordic Bronze Age. The project came about after the surprising findings of the most iconic of the female oak-coffin graves, the “Egtved Girl” (published in 2015), which provided the first evidence for the long distance mobility of a single individual in prehistory. Moreover, the wool of the Egtved Girl’s garment was shown to have originated from areas far distant to the place where the Egtved Girl was buried.

The immediate question which followed close on the coattails of surprising results from Egtved Girl was whether she presented a unique case or whether other women from that period could have travelled as much and over such great distances as the Egtved Girl did. Although the question might seem impossible to answer, Denmark has what is probably a unique potential for shedding light on this intriguing issue due to the exceptional preservation of the elite women in the oak-coffin burials. Of those, two (namely the Skrydstrup Woman and Borum Eshøj Woman) are particularly well suited. Both finds are contemporary with the Egtved Girl and were buried in a similar manner, i.e. in oak-coffins covered by barrows.

Additionally, “Tales of Bronze Age Women” aims at investigating Bronze Age women from the micro- to the macro- perspective in order to provide new knowledge on multiple aspects of their lives. Hence, the research questions under investigation are as follows:

1. How mobile were Bronze Age women? A) at the micro-level: High resolution mobility of single Bronze Age elite women; e.g. the Skrydstrup Woman and the Borum Eshøj Woman case studies and, B) at the macro-level: Mobility of a large number of individuals, including men and children for comparison.
2. Did Bronze Age women have specific roles in long distance trade networks?
3. Can we identify different identities for Bronze Age women?

These questions are examined through a palette of state-of-the-art archaeometric methods, including radiogenic isotope analyses (87Sr/86Sr), stable isotope analyses (δ13C and δ15N), microscopic analyses, forensic investigations (including CT-scanning), aDNA analyses and contextual archaeological studies. When combined, these methods synergize, offering new and multi-layered information through which we can understand the lives of these elite females and the important socio-dynamic aspects of the society of which they were a part.

The Tale of the Skrydstrup Woman

The Skrydstrup Woman was unearthed in 1935 by archaeological excavation from a burial barrow in southern Denmark. The barrow was constructed during the Nordic Early Bronze Age (1700-1100 BC).  Skrydstrup’s barrow was constructed of enormous amounts of turf layers which were laid grass side down and was surrounded by a wall of stones which ringed the base of the barrow. Anoxic waterlogged conditions like those at Skrydstrup’s barrow were created inside the core of some Bronze Age barrows by the formation of ferrous layers which sealed the barrow. This prevented the decomposition of organic remains. Skrydstrup Woman’s barrow was part of a group of eight burial barrows. Skrydstrup Woman’s remains represent the barrow’s primary grave and consist of skeletal as well as soft tissues, which included parts of her cheeks and chin, eyebrows, eyelids, eyelashes and her long hair. Of these, only the hair still remains. Measuring over 60 centimeters, Skrydstrup Woman’s hair is set in a highly complex hairstyle which is atypical for the area. Of the Skrydstrup Woman skeletal tissues, however, a large part still remains and especially her teeth are well preserved.

As was the case for other oak coffin burials, Skrydstrup Woman’s body was placed on an ox-hide wearing a short-sleeved wool blouse decorated with embroidery on the sleeves and at the neckline. She was also equipped with a large square wool textile piece gathered at the top by a belt which covered her from waist to ankle. Additionally, she had a wool cap, a horn comb attached to her belt and a large set of gold spiral rings which lay by her ears.

The first anthropological analyses of Skrydstrup Woman’s remains were made in 1939.  Initial odontological investigations showed that all teeth were visible with the exception of the wisdom teeth. The latter were not yet fully developed in the maxilla and had not erupted in the mandible. The teeth are in excellent condition and present no evidence of dental caries or other diseases. Based on these initial analyses, it was concluded that the human remains belonged to a young female whose chronological age was estimated at roughly 20 years at most.

We conducted new anthropological investigations based on the evaluation of the osteological material as well as CT images and 3D visualizations. Sex determination followed standard anthropological techniques and was based on the morphological features of the os coxae, sacrum, the maximum diameter of the femoral head and the appearance of the long bones. Over the course these new investigations, we re-estimated the Skrydstrup Woman’s age at death on the status of the epiphyseal closure of the long bones, the pelvic girdle and vertebral rims as well as on the development and eruption of the teeth. Both of these investigations rendered an estimated age at death of 17-18 years. Our investigations could also confirm that the remains were those of a female individual, indicating that she was very tall for her time (approx. 170 cm).

We conducted strontium isotope analyses on the tooth enamel from one of Skrydstrup Woman’s first molars and one of her third molars (a wisdom tooth). Tooth enamel in humans is resistant to diagenesis and for this reason often used in archaeological investigations to trace human migration. The enamel from the first molar begins to form in utero and finalizes mineralization at c. three years of age, thus providing information about the place of an individual’s childhood origin. By contrast, the crown of the third molar is more variable and represents a longer period of time from the early adolescent years up to approximately 16 years of age. We sampled both these teeth in order to create a long-term timeline related to the places in which the Skrydstrup Woman had lived throughout her life.

Since modern human scalp hair grows an average of c. 1 cm per month, it acts as an archive which can potentially provide high-resolution diachronic information about diet and mobility when investigated by multi-disciplinary tracers. Due to the complexity of Skrydstrup’s hair style and the unique archaeological nature of the Skrydstrup Woman find, the sampling amount needed to perform reliable strontium isotope analyses had to be balanced against conservation needs. For the strontium isotope investigation of the hair, we divided a 42.5 cm long hair shaft into 17 segments covering a total growth period of at least 51 months prior to death.

Our strontium isotope analysis revealed that the Skrydstrup Woman was of nonlocal origin and originated from a place very distant from where she was buried. Some of her scalp hair segments yielded a local strontium isotope signature, while other hair segments have strontium isotope values similar to the elevated, nonlocal signatures recorded in her teeth. Interestingly, an abrupt change in the range of strontium isotope signatures in the hair occurs between two segments which correspond to a period of c. 47 to 42 months prior to Skrydstrup Woman’s death. We posit that this relatively short time period represents the months during which Skrydstrup Woman travelled from a place outside of territorial Denmark to the Skrydstrup area. After this period, the strontium isotope signatures measured on the rest of the hair segments (representing a period of c. > 40 months before death) all yield local signatures. This last is a range that coincides with the site-specific local isotope range of bioavailable strontium for the Skrydstrup area. This implies that, following migration to the Skrydstrup area, Skydstrup Woman most probably resided locally for the remainder of her life.

We also conducted stable isotope analyses of a 12 cm long scalp hair sample in order to provide some incremental data on the Skrydstrup Woman’s diet. The isotopic data based on δ13C and δ15N analyses varies predictably depending on dietary intake and can, therefore, be used to distinguish between reliance on largely terrestrial or marine food resources in past populations. It can also provide information about seasonal variation in diet and can potentially identify physiological impacts. These analyses showed that Skrydstrup had a terrestrial diet with some indications of seasonal variation. An ancient DNA (aDNA) extraction was attempted on a small subsample of hair.