BONECODE

Tracing the origins, spread, and makers of some of northern Europe’s earliest complex hunting technologies. By linking artefacts with ancient DNA, BONECODE opens a new window onto the people, movements, and innovations that shaped Mesolithic Scandinavia.

BONECODE explores how new technologies emerged, spread, and were adopted among Mesolithic hunter-gatherer communities in Scandinavia and the Baltic region. At the heart of the project are slotted bone points - ingenious composite hunting weapons that combined carefully crafted bone or antler points with razor-sharp stone microblades. These artefacts represent some of the most sophisticated technologies developed by the first hunter-gatherers of northern Europe and offer a unique window into a period of profound cultural and technological change.

Combining archaeology, ancient DNA, radiocarbon dating, and biomolecular science, the project investigates where these innovations originated, who made and used them, and how they arrived in Scandinavia. By linking people directly to the artefacts they created and handled, BONECODE seeks to provide new perspectives on mobility, cultural interaction, and technological transmission during the Mesolithic.

The project also aims to deepen our understanding of everyday life among early hunter-gatherer communities, exploring the relationships between people, technology, and the environments in which they lived. More broadly, BONECODE contributes to ongoing discussions about how knowledge, skills, and innovations were shared across prehistoric Europe and how new technologies transformed human societies.

The DFF-funded project is based at the Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, and is carried out in close collaboration with the National Museum of Denmark, Rudersdal Museums, Aarhus University, the Saxo Institute at the University of Copenhagen, and the University of Tartu.

Project period: 2025-2028

Principal Investigator

Dr. Hannes Schroeder Associate Professor Section for Molecular Ecology & Evolution Globe Institute E-mail: hschroeder@sund.ku.dk  Mobile: +45 42 52 36 14

Researchers