Study of the teeth of prehistoric individuals has shown a wide variability in the oxygen isotope. It is similar to people who lived in ports and cities who were well travelled.
Key takeaways:
- The teeth found at the sites were dated back to the Early Bronze Age and Chalcolithic periods (2500 to 1500BC).
- Tests carried out on collected tooth fragments using an oxygen isotope analysis of tooth enamel provided information as to where an individual lived when the tooth formed.
- Their findings were that the people of the time not only moved within their own country but also travelled within continental Europe.
The diversity is similar to what you would expect to find in medieval ports and cities. What we don’t know is whether they travelled within the UK or whether they also came to and from continental Europe as the isotopic signatures in Europe are similar to those found in Britain and Ireland. Dr Maura Pellegrini, School of Archaeology
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