Smyth, Jessica 
ORCID: 0000-0001-8124-1444, Carlin, Neil ORCID: 0000-0002-0847-1945, Hofmann, Daniela ORCID: 0000-0003-3538-844X, Frieman, Catherine J ORCID: 0000-0002-9030-4483, Bickle, Penny ORCID: 0000-0003-2482-0268, Cleary, Kerri ORCID: 0009-0004-2733-0031, Greaney, Susan ORCID: 0000-0002-3185-1313 and Pope, Rachel ORCID: 0000-0001-6178-3481
(2025)
The ‘king’ of Newgrange? A critical analysis of a Neolithic petrous fragment from the passage tomb chamber.
Antiquity, 99 (405).
pp. 672-688.
ISSN 0003-598X, 1745-1744
Abstract
<jats:p>Recent genomic analysis of a skull fragment from Newgrange, Ireland, revealed a rare case of incest. Together with a wider network of distantly related passage tomb interments, this has bolstered claims of a social elite in later Neolithic Ireland. Here, the authors evaluate this social evolutionary interpretation, drawing on insecurities in context and the relative rarity of engendered status or resource restrictions in the archaeological record of prehistoric Ireland to argue that the status of individuals during this period is better understood through unstable identity negotiations. Inclusion in a passage tomb, while ‘special’, need not equate to a perpetual elite.</jats:p>
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | 4301 Archaeology, 4303 Historical Studies, 43 History, Heritage and Archaeology |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Histories, Languages and Cultures |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 14 Jul 2025 14:47 |
| Last Modified: | 14 Jul 2025 14:47 |
| DOI: | 10.15184/aqy.2025.63 |
| Open Access URL: | https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2025.63 |
| Related Websites: | |
| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3193717 |
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