A recent DNA analysis has shed new light on a Stonehenge-era gold-worker, revealing that the individual, previously thought to be a ‘stout man,’ was actually a woman. The discovery was made possible by new DNA evidence extracted from the skeleton’s skull, tooth, and toe bone, which showed XX sex chromosomes, typical of those who present as female.
The Discovery
The burial, originally excavated in 1803 by William Cunnington, was accompanied by a range of intriguing objects, including a battle axe, tools used for working gold, and a cloak decorated with perforated animal bones. The bones showed that she was around 45 years old when she died and had arthritis in her right wrist, consistent with lifelong use of metal working tools.
Lisa Brown, curator of the Wiltshire Museum, where the ‘stout man’ has been on display, says this discovery shows for the first time that women were also craftworkers during this period. The unique burial was excavated more than 200 years ago by Cunnington in a barrow at Upton Lovell, Wiltshire.
Significance of the Find
This groundbreaking research, using cutting-edge techniques, shows the importance of making museum collections available for scientific analysis. The detailed research carried out at the Ancient Genomics Laboratory at the Crick will be published in a scientific journal shortly. Objects from the Upton Lovell G2a burial are on display at the Wiltshire Museum in Devizes.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
