About 5,200 years ago, a man’s life ended violently in a peat bog in northwest Denmark. Now, researchers have used advanced genetic analyses to tell the unexpected story of “Vittrup Man,” the oldest known immigrant in Denmark’s history.
GEO staff member Roy van Beek was interviewed by CNN about the just published research into this Neolithic peat skeleton.

Van Beek was not involved in this study but coauthored research published in the journal Antiquity about the wealth of information that bog bodies provide about prehistoric life. Roy's opinion on the Vittrup Man study: 'This is beautiful bioarchaeological research that sheds new light on prehistoric genetic history, migration and food patterns. He adds: 'Although the authors of the research article go a little too far in their interpretation for my taste, the research shows how much new information can be extracted from peat corpses - even if only bone material remains. Definitely worth reading.'

You can read the CNN article here.

Vittrup Man–The life-history of a genetic foreigner in Neolithic Denmark