Details
This study investigates the underlying factors behind the spread of the Bell Beaker culture in 3rd millennium BC Europe, testing the hypothesis that it arrived as a result of invasion, and a new population. It does so by analysing non-metric dental traits from a large sample taken from five regions across the Bell Beaker area - Bohemia, Hungary, southern France, northern Spain and Switzerland - totalling more than 2,000 individuals, 530 traits and 255,000 observations. The results show varying local influence in the emergence of the Bell Beaker culture, and a model is proposed for its diffusion.