Feeding Stonehedge

[Angela]

Fun article about the food remains found from the period when Stonehedge was constructed, i.e. 2500 BC. This would be before the arrival of steppe admixed peoples, I believe.

See:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...e-neolithic-man-sweet-pork-rich-cheese-feasts

Well, sounds pretty good to me. Sweetened pork, cheese etc. It may be that these protein rich foods were more consumed at feasts or ceremonial events.

"“We found the larger pots contained mainly pork,” said Craig. “However, smaller pots – which were found at different parts of the Durrington Walls site – contained dairy products. We think these milk-based foodstuffs had special significance. They may have been associated with purity or fertility, for example, and were consumed in a special area.”The presence of dairy food poses a puzzle, however. Genetic evidence indicates that Britons at this time were lactose intolerant. Drinking milk would have made them ill. Yet dairy foods appear to have had widespread use.
This has led Craig and other scientists to argue that cow’s milk would not have been consumed directly but would have been turned into cheese and yoghurt – which would not have triggered lactose intolerance reactions. In other words, people gathering for these festivals would have been eating protein-rich dishes of butter and cheese and other processed dairy products."

 

[Jovialis]

Sounds like they had a good time. I know I would have liked those feasts.

Interesting how they would have consumed cheese and yogurt, before being able to drink milk.

But the identity of any beverages that were consumed remains a mystery. “People always ask me: were our forebears consuming wine or beer or some other kind of alcoholic drink?” said Craig. “The answer is that we do not know. They may well have been, but we do not have the techniques or the evidence yet to say what that drink might be. That is for future research.”

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...e-neolithic-man-sweet-pork-rich-cheese-feasts

Wine with cheese would be better.

 

[I1a3_Young]

That is about the time of the transition of burial practices from cremation to beaker burial? The Amesbury Archer was found to have grown up in the Rhine Valley and was the first Beaker burial in the Stonehenge area. Lactase persistence was present in the Rhine Valley at that time?

Isotope analysis of the Stonehenge feast animals showed that they came from all corners of the British main Island, but not Ireland. This would seem to indicate an Island-wide culture before the Beaker influence.

 

[Angela]

That is about the time of the transition of burial practices from cremation to beaker burial? The Amesbury Archer was found to have grown up in the Rhine Valley and was the first Beaker burial in the Stonehenge area. Lactase persistence was present in the Rhine Valley at that time?

Isotope analysis of the Stonehenge feast animals showed that they came from all corners of the British main Island, but not Ireland. This would seem to indicate an Island-wide culture before the Beaker influence.

To the best of my recollection the evidence seems to show that the major part of the construction of Stonehenge was completed by the Neolithic farmer population before the arrival of any Beaker steppe admixed people. There are burials at the site from that period, which is why I think the comment was made that they were not lactose tolerant.

Once the Beakers arrived they did take it over, made some structural changes, and presumably introduced some of their own rituals as well.

 

[O Neill]

its 5000+ years older.
did you hear about the 3 firepits at the quarry site in wales, that date to 8000bc ?
but they found an acorn that dated to 2500bc so they used that as evidence.
or the stonehenge caretaker who was writing a blog on the 10000 YO post holes
used in the lifting of the stones ? they sacked him and built a visitor center on top.
So the question is who was in britain in 8500 bc transporting 2 ton stones in boats.

 

[bicicleur 2]

To the best of my recollection the evidence seems to show that the major part of the construction of Stonehenge was completed by the Neolithic farmer population before the arrival of any Beaker steppe admixed people. There are burials at the site from that period, which is why I think the comment was made that they were not lactose tolerant.

Once the Beakers arrived they did take it over, made some structural changes, and presumably introduced some of their own rituals as well.

either the BB took it over to demonstrate their own power or they would have made the priests their allies to control the neolithic population

anyway, the neolithic population ended, largely replaced by BB

 

[I1a3_Young]

either the BB took it over to demonstrate their own power or they would have made the priests their allies to control the neolithic population

anyway, the neolithic population ended, largely replaced by BB

Right, and the dating of the takeover is approximate to the pork fat and dairy that they analyzed. The pots could have been Beaker people pots who could have possibly been LP.

What are the LP rates of Insular Celtic people?

 

[O Neill]

I read about it being a baths before its solar temple lifetime.
Warm spring water rising up from underground.
We have many such that the Romans rebuilt while they were here.
The blue stones are rich in minerals that inhanced the visitors bathtime,
Like the bath salts we use today. Wonder if thats were the phraze
Chip of the old block comes from ?
Buts its clear as day them fire pits started in 8500bc and the onsite post
holes are 10000 YO aswell. There not Totem poles left by passing nomads.
Britain i bet was barely a scattering of islands after 100 000 years under 2
miles of ice. An afternoons rain here causing flooding lol.
8000 year old boat timbers 2500 years ahead of there time baffle experts.
Found on the isle of Wight. search it.

 

[Angela]

Right, and the dating of the takeover is approximate to the pork fat and dairy that they analyzed. The pots could have been Beaker people pots who could have possibly been LP.

What are the LP rates of Insular Celtic people?

These remains date to around 2500 BC. Beaker arrived generally in Britain somewhere between 2500-2300 BC. The Amesbury Archer, who appears to have come to Britain from the continent, is dated to around 2300 BC, which is the date of the Amesbury Archer. Some experts still maintain that there wasn't a large Beaker movement into the Salisbury plain until 2000 BC. Even if the date is 2300 BC, that's after the date of this excavation, and it's why the scientists found it unusual that the Neolithic people buried in the same level and whose dna has been analyzed were consuming so much dairy.

There are three stages of construction:

"Archaeologists believe England most iconic prehistoric ruin was built in several stages, with the earliest constructed 5,000 or more years ago. First, Neolithic Britons used primitive tools—possibly made from deer antlers—to dig a massive circular ditch and bank, or henge, on Salisbury Plain. Deep pits dating back to that era and located within the circle—known as Aubrey holes after John Aubrey, the 17th-century antiquarian who discovered them—may have once held a ring of timber posts, according to some scholars."

The major construction was 2800-2500 BC, and this is the period covered by the OP.

"Several hundred years later, it is thought, Stonehenge’s builders hoisted an estimated 80 non-indigenous bluestones, 43 of which remain today, into standing positions and placed them in either a horseshoe or circular formation."

"During the third phase of construction, which took place around 2000 B.C., sarsen sandstone slabs were arranged into an outer crescent or ring; some were assembled into the iconic three-pieced structures called trilithons that stand tall in the center of Stonehenge."
http://www.history.com/topics/british-history/stonehenge

There is also some evidence that there were Megalithic structures on the site. This is typical from what I know. "Sacred" areas were used again and again by succeeding peoples and religions.

I also don't quite understand the level of surprise. There was dairy residue in Anatolia found among Neolithic farmers who definitely didn't carry the LP gene. Cheese, depending on the type, has a lot less lactose than milk.

@Bicicleur,
Yes, that sounds right.