Strontium isotope analysis on cremated human remains from Stonehenge support links with west Wales

Christophe Snoeck,Philippe Claeys,Christie Willis,Rick J. Schulting,Antoine Zazzo,Julia A. Lee-Thorp,John Pouncett,Steven Goderis,Nadine Mattielli,Mike Parker Pearson

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-28969-8

Abstract

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.

Highlights

Despite over a century of intense study of Stonehenge, we still know very little about the individuals buried at the site
Cremation severely limits what can be learned about human remains from both traditional osteological and biogeochemical approaches
Stonehenge lies on the Wessex chalk, characterized by a well-constrained range of strontium isotope ratios (±2 SD: 0.7074–0.7090) allowing for the identification of individuals consuming food beyond this landscape

Summary

Stonehenge support links with

Received: 22 November 2017 Accepted: 28 June 2018 Published: xx xx xxxx west Wales. Christophe Snoeck[1,2], John Pouncett 1, Philippe Claeys[2], Steven Goderis[2], Nadine Mattielli[3], Mike Parker Pearson[4], Christie Willis[4], Antoine Zazzo[5], Julia A. 20 kilometres north of the site, the bluestones (rhyolite, spotted dolerite and other lithologies) – thought to have been erected in an earlier stage – have long been linked with the Preseli Hills of west Wales, over 200 km away, with some sourced to Craig Rhos-y-felin and Carn Goedog quarries[4,5] This raises questions about the nature of contacts between Wessex (south-central England) and western Britain, and the identity and origin of those chosen for burial at Stonehenge. With values ranging from 0.7091 to 0.7118, the remaining ten individuals (40%) could not have consumed food growing around Stonehenge alone (Fig. 2) for the last ten or so years of their lives Those with the highest values (>0.7110) point to a region with considerably older and more radiogenic lithologies, which would include parts of southwest England (Devon) and Wales (parsimony making locations further afield – including parts of Scotland, Ireland and continental Europe – less probable). This is compelling in light of the recent suggestion that the bluestones originally stood in the Aubrey Holes in which most of the cremations were found[1]

Materials and Methods

Author Contributions

Findings

Additional Information