Provenancing antiquarian museum collections using multi-isotope analysis.

Area of Science:

• Archaeological Science
• Bioarchaeology
• Isotope Geochemistry

Background:

• Many significant European archaeological sites were excavated over a century ago, yielding human remains now housed in museum collections.
• The Coldrum site (Kent, Britain), excavated in 1910, is a key megalithic monument potentially linked to the Neolithic transition to farming in Britain.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the provenance of human remains from the Coldrum collection using multi-isotope analysis and radiocarbon dating.
• To evaluate subsistence and mobility patterns of early Neolithic populations and identify the origins of later individuals in the collection.

Main Methods:

• Multi-isotope analysis, including strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr), oxygen (δ¹⁸O), carbon (δ¹³C), and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N).
• Radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dating of human skeletal remains.
• Provenance evaluation of human remains within museum collections.

Main Results:

• The Coldrum collection contains human remains from the Neolithic period, some of the earliest in Britain.
• The collection also includes individuals dating to the 5th to 7th centuries AD, indicating later use of the burial site.
• Isotope analysis provided insights into the subsistence and mobility of early Neolithic populations and the origins of the later individuals.

Conclusions:

• Isotope analysis is a powerful tool for verifying the provenance of human remains in archaeological collections.
• The Coldrum site's human remains represent multiple periods, complicating its interpretation as solely a Neolithic farming transition site.
• This research enhances our understanding of population dynamics and mobility in Neolithic and post-Roman Britain.