2025/08/19 by Eric Guiry, Fiona Beglane, Neil Carlin +3 · 1 voice · 3 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · Social Sciences · #Archaeology #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies #Geodesy #Geography #Geology #Isotope Analysis in Ecology #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology #Prehistory #Solstice
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/ppr.2025.10063
published in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 91, 195-215 (Cambridge University Press)
openalex publication_date 2025/08/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Abstract Newgrange, the Neolithic monument and centerpiece of the Brú na Bóinne UNESCO World Heritage complex, is a high-profile example of prehistoric societies’ observation of, and reverence for, solar events. Comparatively little is known about how these concepts were remembered by those using Newgrange over subsequent millennia. While excavations have uncovered large quantities of later material culture, debate continues about what these subsequent activities represent. We combine zooarchaeological, radiocarbon, and isotopic evidence to assess the nature and seasonality of human–animal–environment relationships at Newgrange. Results show a concentration of feasting activity, focused on pigs, dating to 2600–2450 BC and indicate that most pigs were slaughtered shortly after a period of rapid, pannage-fueled weight gain. This seasonal specificity indicates feasting likely occurred in the weeks around the winter solstice and suggests that, centuries after passage tomb construction ended, practices at Newgrange continued to focus on the general winter solstice timeframe. We also connect a unique isotopic signature for mast (tree nuts) with pannage husbandry, a pattern that should allow for reinterpretation of archaeological pig diets and human–woodland relationships across Europe.