Researchers Crack 3,500-Year-Old Cold Case: Violent Death of 'Vittrup Man' in Denmark

Remains of neolithic man found a century ago in Denmark might have been an immigrant who ultimately became a victim of sacrifice, according to experts. Recent analysis of the remains unearthed in 1915, by peat diggers at the bottom of a trench near the village of Vittrup, shows that the man might have been an itinerant flint trader or slave brutally murdered by eight blows to his head, Live Science reported.

The diggers found a ceramic pot and a wooden club alongside the remains, according to the publication. The diggers contacted the local museum about their findings. On analysis, the pot and club were found to be from around 3800 to 3500 B.C.

The items were transported to the National Museum of Denmark and displayed, while the bones remained unstudied for almost a century.

The diggers found a right ankle bone, a left lower shin, and a fragmented skull and jaw with 16 teeth, all of which were later revealed to be of a single man, Live Science reported. 

Recently experts took up the fascinating "cold case" and analyzed everything from dental plaque to DNA of the remains, to identify the man's origins, Live Science reported. The researchers gave the remains the moniker "Vittrup Man" and concluded that he must have been an immigrant who might have come to the site as a trader or slave.

Studies on genomes of people who died in the Mesolithic to Neolithic periods of European prehistory, make it clear that the Vittrup man lived between 3300 and 3100 B.C, Live Science reported. The genetic profile of the "Vittrup Man" was completely distinct from the local contemporaries of the site where his remains were found.

The research team, led by Anders Fischer, an archaeologist in the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, found that the "Vittrup Man" belonged to a fisher-hunter group from the northern Scandinavian coast, near the Arctic Circle, Live Science reported.

They came to this conclusion by going through the dietary proteins trapped in the man's dental plaque and analyzing the elemental variations in his bones and teeth.

Vittrup Man's dental calculus revealed that the man primarily ate fish like cod and sea bream, as well as whale meat, dolphin meat, and mutton, Live Science reported. At the time of the Neolithic man's birth, Northern Europe was primarily populated by farming communities, who did not follow this diet. This implies that the man was not a native of this place. 

The carbon isotopes on the teeth and bones further revealed that when the man became a teenager, his diet included more terrestrial and freshwater food sources, Live Science reported. This indicated that the Neolithic man changed his geographical location to Denmark after becoming a teen. 

The reason for this move is unclear but Fischer and his team believe that after coming to Denmark, he might have been searching for flint axes and agricultural products in return for commodities he carried from his native land, Live Science reported.

Another theory proposed by the team is that he may have been enslaved and brought forcefully to the site.

The analysis of the remains found in Denmark was published in the journal PLOS One. The examination revealed the neolithic man's life history, dietary changes, and age of death. 

As per the study, the Neolithic man breathed his last when he was around 30 to 40 years old. Analysis suggests that he was murdered by repeated attacks on his head.

"The fragmented state of the cranium is the result of at least eight blows," the researchers wrote in their study, "which split it into several parts. There are no signs of healing — the traumas were obviously fatal."

The injuries reflected on the Vittrup Man's skull indicated to the researchers that the man might have been a victim of a feud or murder, Live Science reported. Previous archeological findings of the site showcased that the place was used for sacrificial activity during the Neolithic era, which makes the case for the man being a sacrifice stronger for the experts.