Investigating Mobility through Oxygen Stable Isotopes from the Medieval Cemetery at Kilroot, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Mobility is the movement of people across distances, often within cultural or political boundaries, and is influenced by economic, religious, and social processes including individual identities. Anthropologists evaluate mobility of past peoples through oxygen stable isotopes, a biochemical measure to assess long-term water consumption influenced by predictable hydrological and climatological factors. This research reconstructed the Medieval Kilroot cemetery (c. 6th to 16th centuries A.D.) in Northern Ireland, which is located less than 3 miles from Carrickfergus Castle. Due to the region’s notable history of significant movement, from early Christian monastic migration to the later invasions of the Anglo-Normans, Kilroot may reflect isotopic diversity. The analysis assessed bone carbonate isotopic values for 33 individuals, reflecting the last 5–10 years before death, between sex and age groups. δ18O values indicated the sample was homogenous for isotope variability (−3.95‰ ± 0.40‰) with no statistically significant differences between sex and age categories. This suggests the cemetery had only local individuals buried regardless of identity. However, δ18O values for two subadults were beyond two standard deviations, which may indicate evidence of fosterage/childhood relocation for educational purposes. The study provides a meaningful contribution to the growing literature and discussion of Medieval Irish movement and isotopic variation.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36822.0