A bioarchaeological research team from ELTE, with Tamás Szeniczey (Department of Anthropology, ELTE Faculty of Science) and Eszter Melis (Institute of Archaeology, ELTE RCH) as first authors, has analysed the biological connections underlying the profound cultural, social, and economic transformations observed in Central Europe during the Early Bronze Age. Their findings were recently published in the prestigious journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. The study highlights that, during this period—contemporaneous with the Middle Bronze Age in Hungary—numerous communities with distinct cultural characteristics emerged along the Danube.

^{The sites of Early Bronze Age burials included in the analysis
(GW: Gáta–Wieselburg culture, MV: Mad’arovce-Věteřov culture, MP: Maros/Perjámos culture, NIT: Nitra culture, UNE: Únětice culture [Bohemia, Germany], UNE-SE: Únětice culture [Moravia, Austria, Slovakia], UNT: Unterwölbling culture, VAT: Vatya culture)}

The biological distance analyses — which assess the degree of morphological similarity or difference between populations, correlating with genetic relatedness — were carried out using cranial metric data (measurable traits of the skull) from Bronze Age communities spanning present-day Czechia to Serbia. Through complex statistical comparisons, the study examined the archaeological and biological anthropological data of 442 Early Bronze Age skeletal burials, and compared them with an additional 100 individuals dating from the earlier period between 2800 and 2100 BC.

^{NMDS plot of the original bootstrapped male distance matrices.
The solid, large dots represent the original data, while smaller transparent dots depict the bootstrapped data}

The cranial metric and population graph analyses demonstrate that the Danube played a complex role in the biological relationships among these communities. As both a geographic region and a waterway, the Danube could function simultaneously as a gateway and a barrier: certain stretches may have acted as obstacles (particularly for men), while others facilitated movement between groups (especially for women). The results of the population graph analysis point to regionally variable patterns of connection for men and women. Although men exhibited a larger number of biological links across different cultural units and groups, these connections were generally weaker than those observed among women. The stronger biological ties of women to various cultural groups are particularly evident in the Unterwölbling and Gáta–Wieselburg cultures. This pattern suggests increased female mobility (exogamy), indicating that in these cultural contexts, women likely migrated between groups—probably in the framework of marriage alliances.

^{Modelling biological connections among Early Bronze Age female groups.
The size of each point indicates similarity to populations from 2800–2100 BC (the larger the point, the stronger the affinity; BBE: Bell Beaker culture [Germany, Poland, Bohemia], BBM: Bell Beaker culture [Moravia], CW: Corded Ware culture, EM: Early Maros culture). Lines represent biological connections between Early Bronze Age populations: dotted lines indicate limited (weaker than expected given geographic proximity) connections, while dashed lines indicate long-distance (stronger than expected given geographic distance) connections.}

In addition to geographic location and sex-specific mobility patterns, the origins of the various communities also appear to have significantly influenced the formation of Early Bronze Age population structure. This is reflected in the differing degrees of biological connection to earlier populations dating between 2800 and 2100 BC. Groups living north of the Danube—such as the Nitra, Únětice, and Mad’arovce–Věteřov communities—showed closer biological affinities with burials associated with the Corded Ware culture. By contrast, individuals linked to southern cultural groups, including the Unterwölbling, Gáta–Wieselburg, Vatya, and Maros/Perjámos cultures, exhibited biological ties to populations associated with the Bell Beaker phenomenon, based on the cranial metric data.

Overall, the study’s results suggest that the substantial cultural changes identified by archaeological research in Central Europe between 2200 and 1500 BC were not driven by large-scale population replacement. Instead, the period was likely characterized by the movement of individuals or small groups of few people between different regions and communities.

The research was carried out within a young-investigator NKFI project led by Tamás Hajdu and an MTA Momentum project directed by Viktória Kiss. These projects have contributed significantly to improving our understanding of Bronze Age populations in Hungary. These bioarchaeological investigations—integrating additional prehistoric archaeogenomic data—will be further supported within the National Research Excellence Programme by NRDIO through an Advanced Grant led by Tamás Hajdu and a Starting Grant led by Eszter Melis, both beginning in 2026.

The open-access link to study:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-025-02324-1

The following researchers and institutions participated in the preparation of the study:

• Tamás Szeniczey, Anett Gémes, Katalin Gyenesei - Department of Anthropology, ELTE Faculty of Science (Budapest)
• Viktória Kiss, Eszter Melis - Institute of Archaeology, ELTE RCH (Budapest)
• Anikó Horváth, István Major, Mihály Molnár, László Palcsu - HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research (Debrecen)
• Hugo Reyes-Centeno - Department of Anthropology, William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology, University of Kentucky (Lexington), Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Center for the Human Past—Uppsala & Stockholm Universities, Evolutionary Biology Centre (Uppsala)
• Jozef Bátora, Július Jakab - Institute of Archaeology, Slovak Academy of Sciences (Nitra)
• Tamás Hajdu - Department of Biological Anthropology, ELTE Faculty of Science (Budapest), Centre for Applied Bioanthropology, Institute for Anthropological Research (Zagreb)

Open access funding provided by Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE).

Hungarian projects supporting the research:

• Grant of the Hungarian Research, Development and Innovation Office (project number: FK128013 and PD146612)
• MTA–BTK Lendület “Momentum” BASES project
• Bolyai Scholarship (BO/00710/23/10)
• Distinguished Guest Scientist Fellowship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
• New National Excellence Program of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology from the source of the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund (ÚNKP-23-5-ELTE)
• Project No. KDP-2023-C2284509 have been implemented with the support provided by the Ministry of Culture and Innovation of Hungary from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, financed under the 2023 − 2.1.2-KDP-2023-00002 funding scheme.