Bronze Age Makers. The origins of the Bronze Age in Europe as seen through the latest natural science analyses of anthropological material and archaeological finds

The Praemium Academiae project, entitled “The Bronze Age Makers”, is divided into several parts:
1. Understanding the development and changes in the genetic profiles of (Central) European populations between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age (ca. 5400-800 BC), from the most generic trends to detailed studies of kinship within individual prehistoric communities, in close collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig and other institutions. Archaeological and anthropological sources of the examined assemblages, analyses of nutritional and mobility isotopes (C, N, O, Sr) and radiocarbon dating of the analysed skeletons shall also be evaluated.
2. Scientific evaluation and publication of the results of the archaeological research of a settlement from the Early Bronze Age (ca. 2000-1700 BC) at the site of Hosty in South Bohemia. At the beginning of the Bronze Age, this settlement constituted an important power centre on the long-distance communication route connecting southern and northern Europe. The evaluation of the results of archaeological research is of crucial importance for our understanding of the emerging network of long-distance contacts and communications during an important period associated with the beginnings of metallurgy and the spread of its products across the continent.
3. Scientific evaluation and publication of the largest Bohemian hoard of bronze artifacts dating back to the Early Bronze Age found in Tursko near Prague in 2015. The hoard comprised about 130 bronze articles (weapons, jewellery, raw material) weighing a total of about 28 kg, as well as 5 gold ornaments, and is one of the largest and most important assemblages of its kind in Europe.