YMPACT at the 15th Nordic Bronze Age Symposium

Between June 11th-15th, 2019, Lund University in Sweden was the host of a major scientific event, the 15th Nordic Bronze Age Symposium, reuniting around 70 Bronze Age specialists in eight sessions. Bianca Preda-Bălănică, post-doctoral researcher, and Volker Heyd, the PI of the Yamnaya Impact on Prehistoric Europe ERC Advanced Project gave a joint lecture.

The lecture was presented by Bianca Preda-Bălănică and it opened Session 2 Burials, individuals and society, organized by Serena Sabatini.  The lecture focused on the impact of the steppe populations on south-east and central Europe, within and beyond the steppe area.The lecture was presented by Bianca Preda-Bălănică and it opened Session 2 Burials, individuals and society, organized by Serena Sabatini.  The lecture focused on the impact of the steppe populations on south-east and central Europe, within and beyond the steppe area.The lecture was presented by Bianca Preda-Bălănică and it opened Session 2 Burials, individuals and society, organized by Serena Sabatini.  The lecture focused on the impact of the steppe populations on south-east and central Europe, within and beyond the steppe area.The lecture was presented by Bianca Preda-Bălănică and it opened Session 2 Burials, individuals and society, organized by Serena Sabatini.  The lecture focused on the impact of the steppe populations on south-east and central Europe, within and beyond the steppe area.

  

Beyond the steppe: the Yamnaya impact on south-east and central EuropeBeyond the steppe: the Yamnaya impact on south-east and central EuropeBeyond the steppe: the Yamnaya impact on south-east and central Europe

  

Bianca Preda-Bălănică & Volker HeydBianca Preda-Bălănică & Volker Heyd

  

The end of the 4th millennium BC witnessed the movement of eastern steppe populations towards the west and their arrival in south-east Europe. New burial rituals emerged, involving the erection of mounds that can still be seen in the plain landscape of modern countries of Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary. They were usually raised for male individuals buried in grave-pits arranged like chambers with mats and wooden covers, lying in supine position with flexed legs, west-east oriented, sprinkled with red ochre and only rarely accompanied by pottery or silver hair-rings. However, the impact of the Yamnaya complex went well beyond the steppe area it was confined to. The innovations brought by these populations changed forever the face of Prehistoric Europe in terms of economy, ideology and society. The current understanding of this complex process, in close relation to new developments in aDNA analyses and isotope studies,is based on concepts such as mobility and migration, interactions, exchanges and transmissions.