When Beakers Met Bell Beakers

This study investigates the underlying factors behind the spread of the Bell Beaker culture in 3rd millennium BC Europe, testing the hypothesis that it arrived as a result of invasion, and a new population. It does so by analysing non-metric dental traits from a large sample taken from five regions across the Bell Beaker area - Bohemia, Hungary, southern France, northern Spain and Switzerland - totalling more than 2,000 individuals, 530 traits and 255,000 observations. The results show varying local influence in the emergence of the Bell Beaker culture, and a model is proposed for its diffusion.