Strontium isotope analysis on cremated human remains from Stonehenge support links with west Wales
Cremated human remains from Stonehenge provide direct evidence on the life of those few select individuals buried at this iconic Neolithic monument. The practice of cremation has, however, precluded the application of strontium isotope analysis of tooth enamel as the standard chemical approach to st...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Publishing Group
2018
|
| _version_ | 1826297495771152384 |
|---|---|
| author | Snoeck, C Pouncett, J Claeys, P Goderis, S Mattielli, N Parker Pearson, M Willis, C Zazzo, A Lee-Thorp, J Schulting, R |
| author_facet | Snoeck, C Pouncett, J Claeys, P Goderis, S Mattielli, N Parker Pearson, M Willis, C Zazzo, A Lee-Thorp, J Schulting, R |
| author_sort | Snoeck, C |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Cremated human remains from Stonehenge provide direct evidence on the life of those few select individuals buried at this iconic Neolithic monument. The practice of cremation has, however, precluded the application of strontium isotope analysis of tooth enamel as the standard chemical approach to study their origin. New developments in strontium isotopic analysis of cremated bone reveal that at least 10 of the 25 cremated individuals analysed did not spend their lives on the Wessex chalk on which the monument is found. Combined with the archaeological evidence, we suggest that their most plausible origin lies in west Wales, the source of the bluestones erected in the early stage of the monument's construction. These results emphasise the importance of inter-regional connections involving the movement of both materials and people in the construction and use of Stonehenge. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T04:32:31Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:cecca393-4b20-4421-af47-f3931d2cb4c6 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T04:32:31Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:cecca393-4b20-4421-af47-f3931d2cb4c62022-03-27T07:38:09ZStrontium isotope analysis on cremated human remains from Stonehenge support links with west WalesJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:cecca393-4b20-4421-af47-f3931d2cb4c6EnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordNature Publishing Group2018Snoeck, CPouncett, JClaeys, PGoderis, SMattielli, NParker Pearson, MWillis, CZazzo, ALee-Thorp, JSchulting, RCremated human remains from Stonehenge provide direct evidence on the life of those few select individuals buried at this iconic Neolithic monument. The practice of cremation has, however, precluded the application of strontium isotope analysis of tooth enamel as the standard chemical approach to study their origin. New developments in strontium isotopic analysis of cremated bone reveal that at least 10 of the 25 cremated individuals analysed did not spend their lives on the Wessex chalk on which the monument is found. Combined with the archaeological evidence, we suggest that their most plausible origin lies in west Wales, the source of the bluestones erected in the early stage of the monument's construction. These results emphasise the importance of inter-regional connections involving the movement of both materials and people in the construction and use of Stonehenge. |
| spellingShingle | Snoeck, C Pouncett, J Claeys, P Goderis, S Mattielli, N Parker Pearson, M Willis, C Zazzo, A Lee-Thorp, J Schulting, R Strontium isotope analysis on cremated human remains from Stonehenge support links with west Wales |
| title | Strontium isotope analysis on cremated human remains from Stonehenge support links with west Wales |
| title_full | Strontium isotope analysis on cremated human remains from Stonehenge support links with west Wales |
| title_fullStr | Strontium isotope analysis on cremated human remains from Stonehenge support links with west Wales |
| title_full_unstemmed | Strontium isotope analysis on cremated human remains from Stonehenge support links with west Wales |
| title_short | Strontium isotope analysis on cremated human remains from Stonehenge support links with west Wales |
| title_sort | strontium isotope analysis on cremated human remains from stonehenge support links with west wales |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT snoeckc strontiumisotopeanalysisoncrematedhumanremainsfromstonehengesupportlinkswithwestwales AT pouncettj strontiumisotopeanalysisoncrematedhumanremainsfromstonehengesupportlinkswithwestwales AT claeysp strontiumisotopeanalysisoncrematedhumanremainsfromstonehengesupportlinkswithwestwales AT goderiss strontiumisotopeanalysisoncrematedhumanremainsfromstonehengesupportlinkswithwestwales AT mattiellin strontiumisotopeanalysisoncrematedhumanremainsfromstonehengesupportlinkswithwestwales AT parkerpearsonm strontiumisotopeanalysisoncrematedhumanremainsfromstonehengesupportlinkswithwestwales AT willisc strontiumisotopeanalysisoncrematedhumanremainsfromstonehengesupportlinkswithwestwales AT zazzoa strontiumisotopeanalysisoncrematedhumanremainsfromstonehengesupportlinkswithwestwales AT leethorpj strontiumisotopeanalysisoncrematedhumanremainsfromstonehengesupportlinkswithwestwales AT schultingr strontiumisotopeanalysisoncrematedhumanremainsfromstonehengesupportlinkswithwestwales |