Editing History of Denmark (section)

== Prehistoric Denmark ==
{{see also|Scandinavian prehistory}}
The Scandinavian region has a rich [[prehistory]], having been populated by several prehistoric cultures and people for about 12,000 years, since the end of the [[Weichselian glaciation|last ice age]]. During the ice age, all of Scandinavia was covered by [[glacier]]s most of the time, except for the southwestern parts of what we now know as Denmark. When the ice began retreating, the barren tundras were soon inhabited by reindeer and elk, and [[Ahrensburg culture|Ahrenburg]] and [[Swiderian culture|Swiderian]] hunters from the south followed them here to hunt occasionally. The geography then was very different from what we know today. Sea levels were much lower; the island of [[Great Britain]] was connected by a land bridge to mainland Europe and the large area between Great Britain and the [[Jutland|Jutlandic peninsula]] – now beneath the [[North Sea]] and known as [[Doggerland]] – was inhabited by tribes of hunter-gatherers. As the climate warmed up, forceful rivers of meltwater started to flow and shape the virgin lands, and more stable flora and fauna gradually began emerging in Scandinavia, and Denmark in particular. The first human settlers to inhabit Denmark and Scandinavia permanently were the [[Maglemosian culture|Maglemosian people]], residing in seasonal camps and exploiting the land, sea, rivers and lakes. It was not until around 6,000 BC that the approximate geography of Denmark as we know it today had been shaped.

Denmark has some unique natural conditions for preservation of artifacts, providing [[Archaeology of Denmark|a rich and diverse archeological record]] from which to understand the prehistoric cultures of this area.

=== Stone and Bronze Age ===
[[File:Brænde-Stene.jpg|right|thumb|Stone Dolmen near Vinstrup, Nørhald. Built in the 3rd millennium BC.]]History of Denmark{{see also|Neolithic|Nordic Stone Age|Nordic Bronze Age}} 
The [[Last glacial period|Weichsel glaciation]] covered all of Denmark most of the time, except the western coasts of Jutland. It ended around 13,000 years ago, allowing humans to move back into the previously ice-covered territories and establish permanent habitation. During the first post-glacial millennia, the landscape gradually changed from [[tundra]] to light forest, and varied fauna including now-extinct [[megafauna]] appeared. Early prehistoric cultures uncovered in modern Denmark include the [[Maglemosian culture]] (9,500–6,000 BC); the [[Kongemose culture]] (6,000–5,200 BC), the [[Ertebølle culture]] (5,300–3,950 BC), and the [[Funnelbeaker culture]] (4,100–2,800 BC).

[[File:Solvognen-00100.jpg|thumb|The famous [[Trundholm sun chariot]] (called ''[[Solvognen]]'' in Danish), a sculpture of the sun pulled by a mare. Scholars have dated it to some time in the 15th century BC and believe that it illustrates an important concept expressed in [[Nordic Bronze Age]] mythology.]]
The first inhabitants of this early post-glacial landscape in the so-called [[Boreal (period)|Boreal period]], were very small and scattered populations living from hunting of [[reindeer]] and other land mammals and gathering whatever fruits the climate was able to offer. Around 8,300 BC the temperature rose drastically, now with summer temperatures around 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit), and the landscape changed into dense forests of [[aspen]], [[birch]] and [[pine]] and the reindeer moved north, while [[aurochs]] and [[moose|elk]] arrived from the south. The [[Koelbjerg Man]] is the oldest known [[bog body]] in the world and also the oldest set of human bones found in [[Denmark]],<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www2.natmus.dk/saer/mislink/uvmateriale/koelbjer.htm|title= Koelbjergkvinden fra Danmark|access-date= 2011-11-30|language= da|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20050306125009/http://www2.natmus.dk/saer/mislink/uvmateriale/koelbjer.htm|archive-date= 2005-03-06}}</ref> dated to the time of the [[Maglemosian culture]] around 8,000 BC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.archaeology.org/online/features/bog/koelbjerg.html|title=Koelbjerg Woman|year=1997|work=Bodies of the Bogs|publisher=Archeology Magazine|access-date=21 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url =http://www.kulturarv.dk/fundogfortidsminder/Lokalitet/141623|title =Koelbjerg|work =og Fund Fortidsminder|access-date =2011-11-30|language =da|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120404130537/http://www.kulturarv.dk/fundogfortidsminder/Lokalitet/141623/|archive-date =2012-04-04}}</ref> With a continuing rise in temperature the [[oak]], [[elm]] and [[hazel]] arrived in Denmark around 7,000 BC. Now [[boar]], [[red deer]], and [[roe deer]] also began to abound.<ref>Jensen 2003:12–18</ref>

A burial from Bøgebakken at [[Vedbæk]] dates to c. 6,000 BC and contains 22 persons – including four newborns and one toddler. Eight of the 22 had died before reaching 20 years of age – testifying to the hardness of hunter-gatherer life in the cold north.<ref>Jensen 2003:24</ref> Based on estimates of the amount of game animals, scholars estimate the population of Denmark to have been between 3,300 and 8,000 persons in the time around 7,000 BC.<ref>Jensen 2003:32</ref> It is believed that the early hunter-gatherers lived nomadically, exploiting different environments at different times of the year, gradually shifting to the use of semi permanent base camps.<ref>Jensen 2003:34</ref>

With the rising temperatures, sea levels also rose, and during the [[Atlantic (period)|Atlantic period]], Denmark evolved from a contiguous landmass around 11,000 BC to a series of islands by 4,500 BC. The inhabitants then shifted to a seafood based diet, which allowed the population to increase.

[[Agriculture|Agricultural]] settlers made inroads around 4,000 BC. Many [[dolmen]]s and rock tombs (especially [[passage grave]]s) date from this period. The [[Early European Farmers|Funnelbeaker farmers]] replaced the Ertebølle culture, which had maintained a [[Mesolithic]] lifestyle for about 1500 years after farming arrived in Central Europe. The Neolithic Funnelbeaker population persisted for around 1,000 years until people with [[Western Steppe Herders|Steppe-derived ancestry]] started to arrive from Eastern Europe.<ref>{{cite news |title=New study unearths our Scandinavian ancestors |url=https://www.gu.se/en/news/new-study-unearths-our-scandinavian-ancestors |work=University of Gothenburg |date=10 January 2024}}</ref> The [[Single Grave culture]] was a local variant of the [[Corded Ware culture]], and appears to have emerged as a result of a migration of peoples from the Pontic–Caspian steppe. The [[Nordic Bronze Age]] period in Denmark, from about 1,500 BC, featured a culture that buried its dead, with their worldly goods, beneath [[Tumulus|burial mounds]]. The many finds of gold and bronze from this era include beautiful religious artifacts and musical instruments, and provide the earliest evidence of [[social class]]es and [[Social stratification|stratification]].

=== Iron Age ===
{{see also|Nordic Iron Age}}
[[File:Gundestrup cauldron - F.I.4277.jpg|thumb|The silver [[Gundestrup Cauldron]], with what some scholars interpret as Celtic depictions, exemplifies the trade relations of the period.]]
During the [[Pre-Roman Iron Age]] (from the [[4th century BC|4th]] to the [[1st century BC]]), the climate in Denmark and southern [[Scandinavia]] became cooler and wetter, limiting agriculture and setting the stage for local groups to migrate southward into [[Germania]]. At around this time people began to extract iron from the [[bog iron|ore]] in [[peat bog]]s. Evidence of strong [[Celts|Celtic]] cultural influence dates from this period in Denmark, and in much of northwest Europe, and survives in some of the older place names.

The [[Roman Empire|Roman provinces]], whose frontiers stopped short of Denmark, nevertheless maintained trade routes and relations with Danish or proto-Danish peoples, as attested by finds of Roman coins. The earliest known [[runic]] inscriptions date back to c. 200 AD. Depletion of cultivated land in the last century BC seems to have contributed to increasing migrations in northern Europe and increasing conflict between Teutonic tribes and Roman settlements in [[Gaul]]. Roman artifacts are especially common in finds from the 1st century. It seems clear that some part of the Danish warrior [[aristocracy]] served in the [[Roman army]].<ref>Birger Storgaard, ''Cosmopolitan aristocrats'', pp. 106–125 in: ''The Spoils of Victory – The North in the shadow of the Roman Empire'', Nationalmuseet, 2003. {{ISBN|87-7602-006-1}}.</ref>

Occasionally during this time, both animal and [[human sacrifice]] occurred and bodies were immersed in [[bog]]s. In {{As of|2008|alt= recent times}} some of these [[bog body|bog bodies]] have emerged very well-preserved, providing valuable information about the religion and people who lived in Denmark during this period. Some of the most well-preserved bog bodies from the Nordic Iron Age are the [[Tollund Man]] and the [[Grauballe Man]].

From around the 5th to the 7th century, [[Northern Europe]] experienced mass migrations. This period and its [[material culture]] are referred to as the [[Germanic Iron Age]].

<gallery class="center" widths="160px" heights="130">
File:Tollundmannen.jpg|The face of Tollundmanden, one of the best preserved bog body finds.
File:Dejbjerg wagon, Nationalmuseet Copenhagen.jpg|The [[Dejbjerg wagon]] from the Pre-Roman Iron Age, thought to be a ceremonial wagon.
File:Nydamboat.2.jpg|The [[Nydam Mose|Nydam oak boat]], a [[ship burial]] from the Roman Iron Age. At [[Gottorp|Gottorp Castle]], [[Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein|Schleswig]], now in Germany.
File:Guldhornene DO-10765 original.jpg|Copies of the [[Golden Horns of Gallehus]] from the Germanic Iron Age, thought to be ceremonial horns but of a raid purpose.
</gallery>