A new interdisciplinary study provides the first detailed insights, from a biomolecular and archaeological perspective, into the lives of people living in Central Europe during the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1,300–800 BCE), the so-called Urnfield period which was marked by cultural changes such as the widespread adoption of cremation. The study analysed ancient DNA, stable oxygen and strontium isotopes, and osteoarchaeological data from non-cremated individuals, alongside strontium isotope data from cremated individuals buried at the sites of Kuckenburg and Esperstedt in Central Germany, excavated by the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt. These results were placed in a broader regional context by comparing them with contemporaneous genetic data from neighbouring regions.