Determining Death: Investigating the Selection Processes for Mortuary Rites in Neolithic Ireland

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Research Context: This project will investigate the determining factors (e.g. age, sex, origin or cultural association) which informed the selection processes for the various mortuary rites (cremation, inhumation, primary/secondary burial, and excarnation) undertaken at selected burial sites in Ireland throughout the Neolithic period (c.4000-2500 BC). A point of focus will be the evidence of cutmarks on human remains found at passage tombs and investigating the processes involved in the defleshing or dismembering of the dead. Identifying the variety of funerary rites undertaken at these sites through the application of modern scientific techniques (bioerosion, osteoarchaeological analysis, strontium isotope analysis and GIS) and determining who was selected for these rites, will provide insight into the social, cultural and political dynamics of these communities and how they interacted with their dead. Methods: Neolithic concepts of social, cultural, and spiritual identity will have impacted upon the selection process for funerary rites. Therefore, to examine whether age, sex, status, origin, or cultural association were determining factors in the mortuary rites undertaken at selected Neolithic burial sites, and to identify patterns in the mortuary record this project will: Undertake a detailed review of the grey literature, including the People of Prehistoric Ireland (POPI) database, QUB, containing 248 Neolithic burial sites. If new sites with cutmarks become evident, these will be included in the sample for study. Establish chronologies and population profiles of selected Neolithic burial sites in Ireland (Table 1) through application of modern osteoarchaeological techniques, a review of published osteoarchaeological reports and radiocarbon dates (McKinley and Smith, 2004; Schwartz, 2007; White et al. 2011). Access to assemblages has been discussed with NMI (Dublin) and NMNI (Belfast) and access to facilities in the 14CHRONO Centre, QUB, to obtain new radiocarbon dates has been granted. Identify whether individuals were local/non-local through the investigation of strontium isotopes from burnt and unburnt bone. This will be undertaken on samples from the Irish assemblages and processed by the author under the supervision of Prof. Snoeck, at Vrije Universiteit Brussels. Develop and apply a novel GIS standard for the recording and presentation of cutmarks on human remains based on a published protocol for faunal remains (Abe et al. 2002) to facilitate cross-comparative analysis of disarticulation and de-fleshing techniques (using ArcGIS Pro 2.6.0 made by ESRI). Undertake a histotaphonomic study to determine diagenetic alterations in bone microstructure of selected burials (both with and without cutmarks) at Irish sites, to determine whether individuals were subject to decomposition prior to processing. This will provide additional insights concerning the reconstruction of peri- and post-mortem mortuary processes (Brönnimann et al., 2018). Undertake a review (through the study of existing published works) of contemporary British sites where cutmarks have been identified (e.g. Coldrum chambered tomb, Kent; Haddenham long-barrow, Cambridgeshire; Quarterness chambered tomb, Orkney), to facilitate comparisons with the Irish material. Collate into a database and cross-reference chronologies and population profiles with mortuary practices, using GIS to identify regional variation in burial rites through statistical interrogation of the mortuary data.