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Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts
Published on: January 29, 2018
Estimations of population density for selected periods between the Neolithic and AD 1800
Andreas Zimmermann1, Johanna Hilpert, Karl Peter Wendt
1Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, Weyertal 125, D 50932 Köln, Germany.
Abstract:
Abstract We describe a combination of methods applied to obtain reliable estimations of population density using archaeological data. The combination is based on a hierarchical model of scale levels. The necessary data and methods used to obtain the results are chosen so as to define transfer functions from one scale level to another. We apply our method to data sets from western Germany that cover early Neolithic, Iron Age, Roman, and Merovingian times as well as historical data from AD 1800. Error margins and natural and historical variability are discussed. Our results for nonstate societies are always lower than conventional estimations compiled from the literature, and we discuss the reasons for this finding. At the end, we compare the calculated local and global population densities with other estimations from different parts of the world.
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