Post by Wes on Sept 29, 2010 11:30:04 GMT 10
Ancient Stonehenge teeth prove people travelled to UK from Mediterranean 3,550 years ago
CHEMICAL tests on the teeth of an ancient skeleton discovered at Britain's Stonehenge showed that the boy they belonged to had traveled to the UK from as far away as the Mediterranean.
The British Geological Survey (BGS) analysed teeth from the 3550-year-old skeleton - dubbed "The Boy with the Amber necklace" because the youngster was buried wearing a necklace of around 90 amber beads - and found the boy could not have been local.
The boy, who was around 14 or 15 years old when he died, was buried on Boscombe Down, about three kilometres southeast of Stonehenge in southern England around 1550BC.
The BGS made the discovery of his origins from new tests on the isotope composition of his teeth.
Professor Jane Evans, Head of Archaeological Science at the British Geological Survey said: “The Boy with the Amber necklace spent his childhood in a warm climate typical of Iberia or the Mediterranean.
"Such warm oxygen values are theoretically possible in the British Isles but are only found on the extreme west coast of southwest England, western Ireland and the Outer Hebrides.
"These areas can be excluded as likely childhood origins of his on the basis of the strontium isotope composition of his teeth."
The bones belonging to another skeleton dubbed the “Amesbury Archer” were earlier shown to date as far back as 2450BC.
Tests on his teeth showed that he was raised in a colder climate than that found in Britain - the combination of his strontium and oxygen isotope composition suggested that he was probably from the Alpine foothills region of Germany.
Prof Evans added: “Isotope analysis of tooth enamel from both these people shows that the two individuals provide a contrast in origin, which highlights the diversity of people who came to Stonehenge from across Europe.”
Dr Alistair Barclay of Wessex Archaeology said: “Through the application of modern science, the amber burial from Boscombe adds one small but potentially significant detail to this ongoing debate."
www.news.com.au/world/ancient-stonehenge-teeth-prove-people-traveled-to-uk-from-mediterranean-3550-years-ago/story-e6frfkyi-1225931456994
CHEMICAL tests on the teeth of an ancient skeleton discovered at Britain's Stonehenge showed that the boy they belonged to had traveled to the UK from as far away as the Mediterranean.
The British Geological Survey (BGS) analysed teeth from the 3550-year-old skeleton - dubbed "The Boy with the Amber necklace" because the youngster was buried wearing a necklace of around 90 amber beads - and found the boy could not have been local.
The boy, who was around 14 or 15 years old when he died, was buried on Boscombe Down, about three kilometres southeast of Stonehenge in southern England around 1550BC.
The BGS made the discovery of his origins from new tests on the isotope composition of his teeth.
Professor Jane Evans, Head of Archaeological Science at the British Geological Survey said: “The Boy with the Amber necklace spent his childhood in a warm climate typical of Iberia or the Mediterranean.
"Such warm oxygen values are theoretically possible in the British Isles but are only found on the extreme west coast of southwest England, western Ireland and the Outer Hebrides.
"These areas can be excluded as likely childhood origins of his on the basis of the strontium isotope composition of his teeth."
The bones belonging to another skeleton dubbed the “Amesbury Archer” were earlier shown to date as far back as 2450BC.
Tests on his teeth showed that he was raised in a colder climate than that found in Britain - the combination of his strontium and oxygen isotope composition suggested that he was probably from the Alpine foothills region of Germany.
Prof Evans added: “Isotope analysis of tooth enamel from both these people shows that the two individuals provide a contrast in origin, which highlights the diversity of people who came to Stonehenge from across Europe.”
Dr Alistair Barclay of Wessex Archaeology said: “Through the application of modern science, the amber burial from Boscombe adds one small but potentially significant detail to this ongoing debate."
www.news.com.au/world/ancient-stonehenge-teeth-prove-people-traveled-to-uk-from-mediterranean-3550-years-ago/story-e6frfkyi-1225931456994
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