Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Sr isotope evidence for population movement within the Hebridean Norse community of NW Scotland

Montgomery, J.; Evans, J.A.; Neighbour, T.

Sr isotope evidence for population movement within the Hebridean Norse community of NW Scotland Thumbnail


Authors

J.A. Evans

T. Neighbour



Abstract

The excavation at Cnip, Isle of Lewis, Scotland, of the largest, and only known family cemetery from the early Norse period in the Hebrides, provided a unique opportunity to use Sr isotope analysis to examine the origins of people who may have been Norwegian Vikings. Sr isotope analysis permits direct investigation of a person's place of origin rather than indirectly through acquired cultural and artefactual affiliations. Sr isotope data suggest that the Norse group at Cnip was of mixed origins. The majority were consistent with indigenous origins but two individuals, of middle-age and different sex, were immigrants. They were, however, not from Norway but were raised separately, most probably on Tertiary volcanic rocks (e.g. the Inner Hebrides or NE Ireland) or, for the female, on marine carbonate rocks.

Citation

Montgomery, J., Evans, J., & Neighbour, T. (2003). Sr isotope evidence for population movement within the Hebridean Norse community of NW Scotland. Journal of the Geological Society, 160(5), 649-653. https://doi.org/10.1144/0016-764903-037

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Sep 1, 2003
Deposit Date Jul 13, 2011
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Journal of the Geological Society
Print ISSN 0016-7649
Publisher The Geological Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 160
Issue 5
Pages 649-653
DOI https://doi.org/10.1144/0016-764903-037
Keywords Sr-87/Sr-86, Teeth, Strontium, Trontium SR-87/SR-86, Mobility, Tissues, Bone.

Files




You might also like



Downloadable Citations