Koelbjerg Man

The Koelbjerg Man (formerly known as Koelbjerg Woman) is the oldest known bog body and also the oldest set of human bones found in Denmark,^[1][2] dated to the time of the Maglemosian culture about 8000 BC.^[3][4] His remains are on display at the Møntergården Museum in Odense, Denmark.^[5]

Koelbjerg Man lived during the Maglemosian culture, an early Mesolithic hunter-gatherer tradition in southern Scandinavia. Radiocarbon dating, pollen studies, and geological sampling place him between about 8050 and 8000 BC.^[6] This period marks the earliest stages of human resettlement in Denmark after the glaciers retreated.

Examination of the bones shows that Koelbjerg Man was an adult aged about 20 to 25 years at the time of death.^[7] He stood about 155 to 160 centimetres (5 ft 1 in to 5 ft 3 in) tall. His teeth were complete and in good condition, with little wear and no signs of disease.^[2] The skeleton was previously identified as female, but questions about the robust shape of the bones led to DNA testing of the molar teeth. A 2016 study confirmed that the individual was male.^[6]

Early osteological reports describe the skull as long and narrow, with pronounced brow ridges and strong jaw muscles.^[6] These features fit with a physically active Mesolithic life.

In May 1941, a human skull and some bones were discovered near Koelbjerg on the island of Funen (Fyn). On 21 May, the find was reported to the Fyns Stiftsmuseum. The museum staff were able to reconstruct the original position of the bones only because the blocks of peat containing the bones could be matched to the holes where they were removed from the bog. The skull and two bones were found at a depth of 2.5 metres (8 ft), but the majority of the bones were found at a depth of 3 to 3.5 metres (10 to 11 ft), at a distance of 7 to 8 metres (23 to 26 ft) from the other bones. A thigh bone was found a further 2 metres (7 ft) to the southeast.

An analysis based on samples from the bones indicated a diet of plants and land-based animals, with little or no seafood.^[2] A strontium isotope analysis revealed that he likely grew up in Funen, the island where the remains were found.^[2]

The distribution of the bones in the bog fits a scenario in which the body decomposed in open water. If Koelbjerg Man drowned in the small lake that once occupied the area, the body may have floated as soft tissue decayed, allowing the bones to separate, drift, and eventually settle into lake sediments. These sediments contributed to their preservation as the lake gradually became a bog.^[3]

In July 1941, a pollen analysis was performed from the inside of the skull. The bog body could be dated to the time of Maglemosian culture about 8000 BC. A bore sample collected in October 1943 provided additional environmental data, and a Carbon 14 test, confirmed in 1983, dated the time of death to the Maglemosian culture.^[8]

Approximately 2.5 kilometres (2 mi) southwest, near the Nerverkær-Moor, remains were found of settlements dating back to the Maglemosian culture. Koelbjerg Man may have lived in this settlement.^[9]

• List of bog bodies
• List of unsolved deaths

55°24′13″N 10°07′59″E / 55.40361°N 10.13306°E / 55.40361; 10.13306^[10]

• K. Brøste, K. Fischer-Møller (1943). Geologisk Datering af Koelbjerg-Skelettet (in Danish).
• J. Troels-Smith (1943). Geologisk Datering af Koelbjerg-Skelettet (in Danish).