Guiry, Eric, Beglane, Fiona, Carlin, Neil et al. (3 more authors) (2025) Pigs, pannage, and the solstice:isotopic insights from prehistoric feasting at Newgrange. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society. ISSN: 0079-497X
Abstract
Newgrange, the Neolithic monument and centerpiece of the Brú na Bóinne UNESCO World Heritage complex, is a high-profile example of prehistoric societies’ observation of, and reverence for, solar events. Comparatively little is known about how these concepts were remembered by those using Newgrange over subsequent millennia. While excavations have uncovered large quantities of later material culture, debate continues about what these subsequent activities represent. We combine zooarchaeological, radiocarbon, and isotopic evidence to assess the nature and seasonality of human-animal-environment relationships at Newgrange. Results show a concentration of feasting activity, focused on pigs, dating to 2600-2450 BC and indicate that most pigs were slaughtered shortly after a period of rapid, pannage-fueled weight gain. This seasonal specificity indicates feasting likely occurred in the weeks around the winter solstice and suggests that, centuries after passage tomb construction ended, practices at Newgrange continued to focus on the general winter solstice timeframe. We also connect a unique isotopic signature for mast (tree nuts) with pannage husbandry, a pattern that should allow for reinterpretation of archaeological pig diets and human-woodland relationships across Europe.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Prehistoric Society. |
Keywords: | banquete,cerdos,Feasting,festins,Irland,Irlanda,Irlande,Monumente,monumentos,monuments,Neolítico final,Néolithique final,porcs,Schweine,solstice,solsticio,Sonnenwende,Spätneolithikum,Zooarchäologie,zooarchéologie,zooarqueología |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (York) > Archaeology (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 26 Sep 2025 12:10 |
Last Modified: | 26 Sep 2025 12:10 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1017/ppr.2025.10063 |
Status: | Published online |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1017/ppr.2025.10063 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:232291 |
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Description: Pigs, pannage, and the solstice: isotopic insights from prehistoric feasting at Newgrange
Licence: CC-BY 2.5