Fosterage and Mobility at the Early Medieval Irish Monastery on the Island of Illaunloughan: A Bioarchaeological Case Study

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Fosterage and mobility both require creating and breaking social ties. Early medieval Irish texts suggest that mobility and fosterage, which is the practice of children leaving home to be raised and educated, were means by which monastic communities gained members and sustained a prestigious social standing. Examining these practices through biogeochemistry can begin to elucidate the relationships between religious and lay communities in early medieval Ireland. This bioarchaeological case study focuses on the practice of monasticism at an early medieval Irish ecclesiastical site on the island of Illaunloughan, Co. Kerry. The monastic phase of the burial population at this site is notable because it contains only males and juveniles. Also, the monastery on Illaunloughan was located in the Corcu Duibne kingdom, which was well-documented to contain three distinct areas controlled by kin groups. Radiogenic strontium isotope ratios and oxygen isotope values, in addition to the contexts of the monastic phase burials, are used to estimate whether the studied individuals may have originated within or outside of the three areas of the Corcu Duibne region. This study provides insights into the lived experiences of both juveniles who were fostered at ecclesiastical sites and adult members of religious communities.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25530