A cow jawbone found beside Stonehenge's south entrance and dated to the monument's beginning was analyzed using isotopes. Scientists sliced the cow's third molar into nine horizontal sections to study chemical signals from the animal's second year of life. Measurements of carbon, oxygen, strontium and lead isotopes provided clues about diet, environment and movement. The isotopic composition indicates origin from an area with Palaeozoic rocks, consistent with Welsh bluestones, before movement to Stonehenge. This provides the first evidence linking cattle remains at Salisbury to Pembrokeshire and supports theories of cattle-assisted transport of the stones.
Now, a new discovery could expose one of the monument's best-kept secrets. A century ago, in 1924, archaeologists discovered a cow's jawbone that had been carefully placed beside Stonehenge's south entrance and dated it to the monument's very beginning, around 5,000 years ago. Experts have now used isotope analysis to finally bring the artifact to life - revealing the cow likely originated in Wales before moving to Stonehenge.
'A slice of one cow tooth has told us an extraordinary tale and, as new scientific tools emerge, we hope there is still more to learn about her long journey,' Professor Jane Evans, from the British Geological Survey, said. The team, which also included scientists from Cardiff University and University College London, sliced the cow's third molar tooth, which records chemical signals from the animal's second year of life, into nine horizontal sections.
They were than able to measure carbon, oxygen, strontium and lead isotopes, which each offer clues about the cow's diet, environment and movement. Analysis of the composition suggests the cow originated from an area with Palaeozoic rocks, such as the bluestones found in Wales, before moving to Stonehenge. This is the first time that scientists have seen evidence linking cattle remains from the site in Salisbury to Pembrokeshire in Wales, where some of the stones originated.
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