Science Research Experience

(2.5-3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

The Parknabinnia Neolithic court tomb (CL 153) was excavated by Dr. Carleton Jones between 1998 and 2001. Since that time various publications have dealt with different aspects of the site and analyses of the finds but a full analysis and publication of the complex stratigraphy of the site is still forthcoming. Sophie will help progress the analysis of the stratigraphy by first re-drawing the stratigraphic matrix using an appropriate software package and then inserting into the matrix the results of various analyses that have been carried out post-excavation. These new pieces of data consist of radiocarbon dates (on human, hare and dog bones), stable isotope analyses on human bone, and aDNA analyses on human bone. This updated and annotated stratigraphic matrix will then be used to explore the possibility that there may be stratigraphic and chronological patterns in the trophic level (as revealed in 15N stable isotope analyses) and the kinship relationships (as revealed by aDNA) that have been detected so far in the Parknabinnia people. From those findings, we will then also look at which stratigraphic contexts may be suitable for further sampling.