The Skateholm networks and hunting grounds: Late Mesolithic cultural and territorial legacy investigated through strontium isotope analyses and tooth-bead use-wear

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Skateholm is an iconic site in Late Mesolithic research. Its numerous human graves and well-preserved cultural layers have provided a wealth of knowledge on prehistoric forager lifeways. However, while several studies have focused on the origins of the interred humans, little is known about land use, hunting grounds, and long-distance relations. To address this, we analysed 12 unmodified teeth and 22 tooth-beads for sequential strontium isotope ratios ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) and conducted a use-wear analysis of the beads to assess usage extent and inheritance. The animal Sr data were contextualised within a high-resolution bioavailable Sr baseline of 1651 samples from Southern Scandinavia and the northern Central European plains and visualised with an Empirical Bayesian Kriging interpolated map. To fully utilise the sequential tooth data and establish probable areas of origin, the landscape around Skateholm was divided into 34 subregions, and its Sr ratios correlated with the tooth-specific Sr patterns. The relationship between teeth and subregions was examined with a Principal Component Analysis, where the Euclidean distances, through a Bayesian Gaussian-like model, were recalculated into probabilities of origin. Results show that all unmodified teeth and ca 40% of the tooth beads originated from an adjacent area to the west of the site, most likely representing the group territory and hunting grounds. The remaining tooth beads cluster into five non-local regions across Scania and Blekinge. By combining bead use-wear patterns with Sr data, we demonstrate extensive networks and inheritance practices, including a potential multi-generational use of tooth-beads from special animals. This novel approach to high-resolution Sr isotope analysis enables precise identification of local and non-local origins, offering significant potential for reconstructing mobility, transhumance, and landscape use in prehistoric societies worldwide.