The Descent: Geographical Information System Mapping as a Method of Quantification in Osteoarchaeological and Taphonomic Analysis of Early Neolithic Human Remains from Cave Burials in North-Western England

Abstract

Caves have long been recognised as an important aspect of Neolithic burial practice and our understanding around such practices has been supported by taphonomic analysis and re-analysis of original excavations. This research aims to assess whether Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used as a tool for exploring taphonomy, currently underutilised in human cave assemblages. Through our understanding of taphonomic patterns at an element, body and stratigraphic level, site specific inferences of burial practices can be reconstructed and patterns across cave burials assessed.

Two main sites were selected for analysis, Cave Ha 3 (Yorkshire) and Heaning Wood (Cumbria). Bone fragments were assessed for taphonomic modifications and mapped onto templates of bones in QGIS. This has created visual and quantitative data of changes at a body level. Spatial archive data was examined and taphonomic modifications were geographically referenced in QGIS. This provided information of its distribution, allowing for analysis of the movement of skeletal elements and possible locations of geological processes within the cave system.

Analysis of Cave Ha 3 has highlighted possible burial locations and position of bodies, adding support to earlier narratives. Spatial data for Heaning Wood was less detailed, however analysis has indicated burial sequences. Eight of the nine individuals recovered from Heaning Wood have been radiocarbon dated, showing distinct episodes of burial spanning from the Early Mesolithic through to the Early Bronze Age. The research provides the most comprehensive report on Heaning Wood to date, with radiocarbon dates challenging previous discourse around the absence of Early Neolithic cave burials along the south coast of Cumbria. The Early Mesolithic date also provides support for the reoccupation of Britain occurring in the North West, simultaneous with occupation in the South.

Results suggest that QGIS can provide excellent visualisation of taphonomic modifications, regardless of whether a site has spatial legacy data. It has allowed analysis of intra and inter-body taphonomic changes. For sites that do have context data, QGIS provides a more traditional use, mapping where these modifications have occurred within the cave. This has implications for understanding original deposition, geological processes and the relationship between the buried bodies and cave.