Precise dating gives prehistoric past a human face
Long held views of the chronology of a series of prehistoric monuments in England and of the duration of their use have been overturned by a ground-breaking dating programme led by English Heritage in association with Cardiff University and University of Central Lancashire.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Long held views of the chronology of a series of prehistoric monuments in England and of the duration of their use have been overturned by a ground-breaking dating programme led by English Heritage in association with Cardiff University and University of Central Lancashire.
The end of the active use of four Neolithic sites in South West England - Ascott-under-Wychwood, Hazleton, West Kennet and Fussell's Lodge - was previously thought to be separated by centuries. By combining radiocarbon dates with archaeological information using Bayesian statistics, researchers have now been able to reveal that these sites, which are long barrows used as burial chambers, all ended their burial within a decade or so of 3,625BC.
Because each of the sites were closed differently and human remains were deposited in diverse ways, archaeologists have up to now tried to explain their differences as proof of changing customs over time. By showing these sites to be contemporary, the research provides a dramatically new window on the Neolithic period, suggesting that societies then were much less homogeneous and static than previously thought.
The differences are stunning and reveal the choices made by different communities within the same generation. At Fussell's Lodge the wooden chamber was consumed by fire; at Ascott-under-Wychwood the entrances were blocked; at Hazleton burial ended, but people returned to place offerings in the passages; at West Kennet, burial simply stopped.
Alex Bayliss, radiocarbon dating expert at English Heritage, said: "Prehistorians till now have only been able to assign the people whom they study to imprecise times. As a result, prehistory is often seen as a fuzzy period, a timeless stretch in which nothing changes for long periods. With this research, we can now think about the Neolithic period in terms of individuals and communities and make useful and revealing comparisons between their choices and behaviour in the remote past.
"This dating programme demands a revolution in our thinking about prehistory-and not just that of early Neolithic burial monuments in southern Britain. Finally, we can now think about Neolithic history - ideas, events and people at specific times over 5,000 years ago."
More precise dating of the bones previously discovered at Wayland's Smithy in Oxfordshire also revealed that the Neolithic Age was marked by more violence than traditionally imagined. The barrow consists of two monuments. Inside the smaller and earlier mound were discovered the remains of 14 people, three of whom were probably killed by arrowshots. Dating is now able to narrow the date of their burials to within a decade or so, between 3590 and 3560BC. This opens up the possibility that these people could have died together as a result of a massacre, possibly in a scramble for land or a cattle raid.
Michael Wysocki, Senior Lecturer in Forensic and Investigative Science at the University of Central Lancashire, said: "We know one person was shot through the lower abdomen because we have found the tiny tip of a flint arrowhead embedded in their pelvic bone. We also know that the bodies of two people were scavenged and partially dismembered by dogs or wolves before their remains were buried in the monument. All this new evidence suggests that the period between 3625 BC and 3590 BC may have been one of increasing social tension and upheaval."
Precise dating also helps to dispel the traditional view that long barrows such as these were used over centuries. Instead, their use is now revealed to be short lived and intensive. Few barrows were used for more than three to four generations. Wayland's Smithy was probably used for under a decade. Such short timescales support the impression of small communities keeping alive memories of their immediate kin and people they know, rather than some tribal ancestors or past heroes.
Radiocarbon dating has been available to archaeologists for more than 50 years, with high-precision calibration based on wood dated by dendrochronology available for the Neolithic period in England for the last 20 years. On its own, this method provides reliable yet broad ranges for the dates of individual samples, usually spanning 250 years or more. But when combined with Bayesian statistics, a method in which samples are studied and interpreted in their archaeological context ( their appearance in different layers in the soil, for example ), the span can be narrowed sometimes to within a few decades.
Alasdair Whittle, Professor in the Cardiff School of History and Archaeology at Cardiff University, said: "Up to now prehistorians have tended to emphasise long-term change, in search of long-running or underlying processes at the expense of shorter- term events and succession. This dating programme will help direct the study of prehistory to get much closer to people."
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Notes to the editor
* Long barrows are elongated mounds, built of earth ( earthen long barrows ) or stone ( long cairns ). They enclose chambers of timber or stone, which often contain human remains. Most bodies were complete when buried, but repeated use of the burial chambers over time can create masses of jumbled bones. Over 300 long barrows are known across Britain, with concentrations in the Cotswolds and on the Wessex downs. They were built during the Neolithic, although until now they have been dated only to somewhere between 4000 and 3000 BC.
* A number of talks on the significance of precise radio carbon dating in understanding the Neolthic period will be given during National Science and Engineering Week 2007 ( 9-18 March ). Details as follows:
The times of their lives: The people of Fussell's Lodge Neolithic long barrow,13 Mar 07 ( 19:30-20:30 ), Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum
The times of their lives: The people of Wayland's Smithy Neolithic long barrow, 14 Mar 07 ( 14:00-15:00 ), the Victorian Gallery, Reading Museum
The times of their lives: The people of West Kennet Neolithic long barrow,16 Mar 07 ( 13:00-14:00 ), the Avebury Study Centre
The times of their lives: The people of Hazleton North Neolithic long barrow, 17 Mar 07 ( 11:30-12:15 ), the Corinium Museum
Photo captions:
1. Reconstruction drawings showing the different ways Neolithic communities closed their burial sites - at Ascott-under-Wychwood, the chamber was walled up; at Hazleton offerings were made; at Fussell's Lodge the wooden mortuary chamber was burnt and a large barrow constructed; and in West Kennet, people simply stopped placing corpses in the tomb. These differences indicate that contemporary Neolithic societies are much more varied than we previously thought.
2. Wayland Smithy, Oxfordshire - A Neolithic chambered long barrow 2km from the Uffington White Horse. The remains of 14 people, three of whom were probably killed by arrowshots, were discovered in 1962-3, but precise dating is now able to narrow the date of their burials to within a decade or so, between 3590 and 3560BC. This opens up the possibility that these people could have died together as a result of a massacre, possibly in a scramble for land or a cattle raid.
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