Skeletal remains in Bronze Age Orkney cemetery suggest large influx of women from continental Europe

Bob Yirka is a writer for Phys.org.

Evidence suggests that large numbers of women from the European continent migrated to the Orkney Islands during the Bronze Age. The group describes their study of the remains of people buried in a Bronze Age cemetery on the island of Westray in a paper published in the journal Antiquity.

During the Bronze Age in Europe, people on the Orkney Islands built stone structures and burial chambers. The community of people that lived there made up a farming settlement. Multiple houses and other structures have been revealed. The researchers analyzed the bones in the cemetery to learn more about the people who lived there.

Three extended families were mostly buried in the cemetery. Men in the cemetery had long ties to the island or surrounding area. Females were more diverse. Many of them came from the European continent, suggesting they had migrated to the island. The researchers found no differences between genders, status or wealth in the cemetery. All of the people buried there were treated the same. The researchers think that the female migrants had been welcomed into the community. The remains suggest a stable population on the island, which could mean that some people who were born there left when they were able to do so.

The researchers think that the women brought aspects of their culture with them. The Beaker people from some of the milder parts of Europe were known for their close community ties and advanced agricultural techniques, which could have spilled over to communities on Orkney as the women moved there.

More information: Hazel Moore et al, Migration and community in Bronze Age Orkney: innovation and continuity at the Links of Noltland, Antiquity (2022). DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2021.185 Journal information: Antiquity

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