While they may not have been pretty sights, the large prehistoric trash dumps known as middens are critical to understanding human history. Their research published on September 9 in the journal iScience indicates that Bronze Age Britons traveled long distances to participate in huge feasting events. Bronze Age groups would travel for miles to participate in large, food-based events where they expressed their identities and maintained relationships. Madgwick also theorizes that there may even have been a transitional “feasting age” between the Bronze and Iron Ages, as populations and societal hierarchies shifted. Credit: Cardiff UniversityWhile major food gatherings have always been integral in societal relationships, Madgwick said that few compare to what his team found in Bronze Age England.