Editing History of Denmark (section)

=== 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]].