Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41650112›Full record

ArticlePloS one2026

Bronze Age non-elite mobility in Denmark examined through a new human-based bioavailable strontium isotope range.

Karin Margarita Frei, Malene Refshauge Beck, Pernille Pantmann, Niels Algreen Møller, Morten Søvsø, Robert Frei

Abstract readHistorical Article
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Karin Margarita FreiDepartment of Research, Collections and Conservation, Environmental Archaeology and Materials Science, National Museum of Denmark, Denmark.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5198-073X
Malene Refshauge BeckVikingemuseet Ladby, Kerteminde, Denmark.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3039-0623
Pernille PantmannMuseum Nordsjælland, Hillerød, Denmark.
Niels Algreen MøllerMuseum Thy, Thisted, Denmark.
Morten SøvsøMuseum Vest, Ribe, Denmark.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1348-8028
Robert FreiDepartment of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7708-9881

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Strontium isotope analysis is now a key method for investigating ancient human mobility, leading to a rapid expansion of available ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr datasets. Owing to the relatively homogeneous surface geological conditions across present-day Denmark (excluding Bornholm) and the growing number of regional datasets, it is now possible to construct statistically defined ranges of bioavailable strontium directly from archaeological human data. In this study, we compile 513 published strontium isotope values from tooth enamel and pars petrosa of individuals recovered from archaeological sites across present-day Denmark and add 115 new values. Using the Median Absolute Deviation (MAD) method to identify outliers in this comprehensive and diachronic database of 628 human ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, we define the first statistically constrained, human-based range of bioavailable strontium isotope values for Denmark to ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.7089-0.7117. We interpret this range as representing typical bioavailable strontium signatures in prehistoric Denmark. We then apply it, for the first time, as one of the reference frameworks for investigating the mobility of non-elite individuals from the Nordic Bronze Age in present-day Denmark. In total, we conducted 34 strontium isotope analyses on individuals from two sites: fourteen analyses from six inhumations at Kalvehavegård on Funen, and twenty analyses from cremated individuals at Sølager on Zealand. We compare the individuals' strontium isotope values both to established baselines relevant for past mobility studies and to the new human-based range defined in this study. The results indicate that mobility during the Nordic Bronze Age was not restricted to elite social groups but also encompassed some non-elite individuals, offering new insights into social dynamics during this formative period of European prehistory. Moreover, the new strontium dataset presented here represents the first accessible, country-wide compilation of human-derived Sr data for Denmark, providing a robust platform for future comparative studies and mobility research in the region.

Indexed as

ArchaeologyHuman MigrationStrontium IsotopesDenmarkDental EnamelHistory, AncientHumansStrontium Isotopes

Identifiers

PMID41650112
PMCPMC12880727

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.