Investigating subsistence and connectedness in the Middle Neolithic in Ireland, Wales and Orkney using organic residue analysis and radiocarbon dating

Abstract

The inter-regional character of the Middle and Late Neolithic in Ireland, Orkney and northern Wales is most visible in uniform funerary architecture but is also manifested in similar material culture. Yet, due to a historic focus on funerary monuments and the scarcity of settlement sites in Ireland and Wales, little is known about the subsistence and social practices of the societies that could afford time-consuming megalith constructions. The aim of this thesis was to investigate vessel use, subsistence practices and connectedness using organic residue analysis, compound-specific radiocarbon dating of pottery lipids and bulk radiocarbon dating of bone collagen. This thesis is one of the first large-scale applications of compound-specific radiocarbon dating of absorbed lipids from pots, using this novel technique to increase our understanding of social changes and technological diffusion in a time period that is often linked with reduced population sizes and an agricultural lull.
Organic residue analysis was applied to 496 vessels. A strong focus on dairy processing in pottery vessels was observed in all three regions and among all pottery types, suggesting an economy largely focused on dairy herding. However, regional and local patterns emerged. A focus on ruminant dairy and carcass product processing was observed in Orkney, while the pottery from Wales suggested a subsistence model based on domestic and wild resources, incorporating products from ruminant and non-ruminant animals as well as marine/aquatic resources. In Irish assemblages, dairy was the most important lipid-rich commodity processed in pottery throughout the Neolithic. Occasional aquatic biomarkers at Irish coastal or island sites, however, underlined that vessel use was also governed by the local environment.
Fifty-one compound-specific radiocarbon dates from Neolithic vessels are presented in this thesis, linking vessel use to an absolute date range. The radiocarbon dates were used to provide new Bayesian models for individual sites and to present a new pottery chronology for Ireland, northern Wales and Scotland from ca. 3700-2400 cal BC. New radiocarbon dates from animal and human collagen were combined with previous radiocarbon dating evidence to present updated Bayesian modelling of funerary traditions in Ireland and Orkney.
The new pottery chronology suggested an early start of Impressed Ware in Ireland compared to Wales, a considerable overlap between Unstan and Grooved Ware in Orkney; a swift spread of Grooved Ware to Wales and a lagged introduction in Ireland. It was shown that concurrencies of pottery styles often occurred at sites in close distance, however, no evidence for the simultaneous use of various pottery types was observed. Combined results indicate that changes associated with the Middle and Late Neolithic were more nuanced, did not necessarily occur simultaneously in the three study regions and that local responses to the environment and inter-regional connectedness are not contradicting observations.

Date of Award	13 May 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Supervisor	Richard P Evershed (Supervisor), Mélanie Roffet-Salque (Supervisor) & Jessica Smyth (Supervisor)