Hoole, M., Sheridan, A., Boyle, A., Booth, T., Brace, S., Diekmann, Y., Olalde, I., Thomas, M., Barnes, I., Evans, J. A., Chenery, C., Sloane, H., Morrison, H., Fraser, S., Timpany, S. and Hamilton, D. (2017). 'Ava': a Beaker-associated woman from a cist at Achavanich, Highland, and the story of her (re-)discovery and subsequent study. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 147. Vol 147, pp. 73-118.
 Title The title of the publication or report |
'Ava': a Beaker-associated woman from a cist at Achavanich, Highland, and the story of her (re-)discovery and subsequent study | ||||||||||
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Issue The name of the volume or issue |
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 147 | ||||||||||
Series The series the publication or report is included in |
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland | ||||||||||
Volume Volume number and part |
147 | ||||||||||
Page Start/End The start and end page numbers. |
73 - 118 | ||||||||||
Downloads Any files associated with the publication or report that can be downloaded from the ADS |
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Licence Type ADS, CC-BY 4.0 or CC-BY 4.0 NC. |
ADS Terms of Use and Access
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Publication Type The type of publication - report, monograph, journal article or chapter from a book |
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Abstract The abstract describing the content of the publication or report |
This contribution describes the discovery and subsequent investigation of a cist in a rock-cut pit at Achavanich, Highland. Discovered and excavated in 1987, the cist was found to contain the tightly contracted skeletal remains of a young woman, accompanied by a Beaker, three flint artefacts and a cattle scapula. Initial post excavation work established a date for the skeleton together with details of her age and sex, and preliminary pollen analysis of sediments attaching to the Beaker was undertaken. The findings were never fully published and, upon the death of the excavator, Robert Gourlay, the documentary archive was left in the Highland Council Archaeology Unit. Fresh research in 2014–17, initiated and co-ordinated by the first-named author and funded by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland with assistance from National Museums Scotland, the Natural History Museum and Harvard Medical School, has produced a significant amount of new information on the individual and on some of the items with which she was buried. This new information includes two further radiocarbon dates, a more detailed osteological report, isotopic information pertaining to the place where she had been raised and to her diet, histological information on the decomposition of her body, and genetic information that sheds light on her ancestry, her hair, eye and skin colour and her intolerance of lactose. (This is the first time that an ancient DNA report has been published in the Proceedings.) Moreover, a facial reconstruction adds virtual flesh to her bones. The significance of this discovery within the Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age of this part of Scotland is discussed, along with the many and innovative ways in which information on this individual, dubbed ‘Ava’, has been disseminated around the world. | ||||||||||
Year of Publication The year the book, article or report was published |
2017 | ||||||||||
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Locations Any locations covered by the publication or report. This is not the place the book or report was published. |
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Source Where the record has come from or which dataset it was orginally included in. |
ADS Archive
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Created Date The date the record of the pubication was first entered |
28 Nov 2018 |
