Iron Age Skeletons Found in Scottish Cairn Show Signs of Postmortem Skull and Bone Modification
Archaeologists uncovered an adult female and juvenile male, likely maternal second cousins, in a low stone cairn in Sutherland. The adult female’s remains showed signs of postmortem modification.
The IndependentArchaeologists excavated two human skeletons from a low stone cairn at Loch Borralie in Sutherland, north-west Scotland. One skeleton belonged to an adult female and the other to a juvenile male. The adult female’s skull showed striations on the inside, and her humerus, ulna and femur bones were tapered toward the ends.
These features indicate that her brain was intentionally removed after death and that her long bones were shaped to sharp points. DNA analysis showed the two individuals were most likely maternal second cousins. Both individuals likely grew up around 80 km southeast of Loch Borralie.
They also shared genetic connections with people from Orkney, 175 km northeast, and Applecross, 225 km southwest. Laura Castells Navarro, lead author of the study published in the journal Antiquity, said the team analyzed the bones and ancient DNA to determine who the individuals were, where they came from, and whether they were related.
She stated that the circulation and deposition of human remains were particularly prominent in north-west Scotland, including the Northern and Western Isles.
Castells Navarro noted that the motivation behind the manipulation of the adult female’s remains is difficult to interpret. She added that the care with which the woman was reassembled and deposited in the cairn possibly suggests she commanded a level of reverence and respect by her community.
Human remains rarely survive from the Iron Age in Britain between 800 BC and 43 AD, but north-west Scotland’s environmental conditions support bone preservation.
Castells Navarro said the findings show that prehistoric maritime communities periodically moved around the north coast and Northern Isles of Scotland, possibly in small groups, allowing the spread and maintenance of cultural practices and traditions.
She concluded that the combination of unfamiliar postmortem modifications and evidence for extensive mobility indicates complex funeral traditions were maintained over long distances in Iron Age Britain.
