Kathleen Mcsweeney
Biographic Data
| ID | 3664040 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kathleen Mcsweeney |
| GIVEN NAMES | Kathleen |
| FAMILY NAME | Mcsweeney |
| SIGNATURE | MCSWEENEY K |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Edinburgh |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6488-2928 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 66 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 15 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1996 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2021 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Violence in the first millennium BCE Eurasian steppe: Cranial trauma in three Turpan Basin populations from Xinjiang, China
OBJECTIVES: Violence affected daily life in prehistoric societies, especially at conflict zones where different peoples fought over resources and for other reasons. In this study, cranial trauma was analyzed to discuss the pattern of violence experienced by three Bronze to early Iron Age populations (1,000-100 BCE) that belonged to the Subeixi culture. These populations lived in the Turpan Basin, a conflict zone in the middle of the Eurasian Step…
The Beaker phenomenon and the genomic transformation of northwest Europe
New AMS 14 C Dates for Human Remains from Stone Age Sites in the Iron Gates Reach of the Danube, Southeast Europe
Archaeological investigations in the Iron Gates reach of the Lower Danube Valley between 1964 and 1984 revealed an important concentration of Stone Age sites, which together provide the most detailed record of Mesolithic and Early Neolithic settlement from any area of southeastern Europe. Over 425 human burials were excavated from 15 sites. Of these, less than one-fifth have been directly dated. This article presents 37 new AMS dates on human bon…
Food for Thought: Re-Assessing Mesolithic Diets in the Iron Gates
Stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur in human bone collagen are used routinely to aid in the reconstruction of ancient diets. Isotopic analysis of human remains from sites in the Iron Gates section of the Lower Danube Valley has led to conflicting interpretations of Mesolithic diets in this key region of southeast Europe. One view (Bonsall et al. 1997, 2004) is that diets were based mainly on riverine resources throughout the Mes…
Bosiliack and a Reconsideration of Entrance Graves
In 1984 the entrance grave at Bosiliack, Cornwall, was excavated by Charles Thomas on behalf of the Institute of Cornish Studies. It was a comparatively small example, approximately 5 m in diameter encircled by a substantial kerb. A deposit of cremated bone was found within the chamber accompanied by sherds of plain pottery from three vessels. Two radiocarbon determinations were obtained on the cremated bone. The dates were almost identical, fall…
Rewriting the end of the Early Bronze Age in the United Arab Emirates through the anthropological and artefactual evaluation of two collective Umm an‐Nar graves at Hili (eastern region of Abu Dhabi)
The Hili archaeological complex in Al Ain (U.A.E.) is important for its wealth of third‐millennium BC Umm an‐Nar burial and settlement sites. Two of the most significant burial sites are Tomb N at Hili and Tomb A Hili North. The latter is a classic circular Umm an‐Nar monumental grave, while Hili N is a pit‐grave, one of only two Umm an‐Nar period pit‐graves discovered so far in the U.A.E. Both of these tombs contained the remains of hundreds of …
Excavation of a Bronze Age kerbed cairn at Olcote, Breasclete, Near Calanais, Isle of Lewis
An archaeological excavation was carried out by the Centre for Field Archaeology (CFA) from October to December 1995 of a Bronze Age kerbed cairn at Olcote, Breasclete, Isle of Lewis (NGR: NB 2180 3475). The cairn was discovered by CFA during an evaluation of a dense scatter of worked and unworked quartz made by local archaeologists, Margaret and Ron Curtis. The remains lay in the path of the improvement of the single track road through Breasclet…
New Approaches to a collective grave from the Umm An-Nar Period at Hili (UAE)
In the Oman peninsula, the Umm an-Nar circular tombs, easily seen in the landscape because of their monumental architecture, have usually been robbed for building stones and for their objects. This was not the case for a pit-grave discovered at Hili (United Arab Emirates) in 1984, which presented a stratigraphy nearly 2 meters deep, with 4 phases of main funeraiy deposits dating to the end of the Umm an-Nar period (ca 2 200-2 000 ВС). Such a stra…
Étude paléodémographique et utilisation du feu à Hili N, une sépulture collective en fosse de la fin de l'âge du Bronze ancien aux Émirats Arabes Unis
In 1983, next to one of the monumental circular tombs considered to be diagnostic for the Umm an-Nar Period (ca 2700-2000 BC), a collective burial in a pit-grave was discovered. The first objective of the present study is to establish whether this structure, dated to 2200-2000 BC, i.e. the end of the Early Bronze Age in the region, is associated with a specific funerary practice or to a selection of the buried individuals. The second is to define…
Problems of dating human bones from the Iron Gates
It is widely recognized that when marine resources form a significant proportion of the human diet, this results in radiocarbon ages for human remains that are significantly older than the contemporary atmosphere. While there has been widespread assessment of marine14C reservoir ages, there has been little study of the freshwater equivalent. However, recent analyses of human bone from archaeological sites in the Danube Valley have confirmed the e…
A Radiocarbon-dated Collared Urn from Oban
A collared urn was found during the course of a watching-brief on the raised beach on the north side of Oban bay. Post-excavation analysis has succeeded in throwing some further light on the chronology of this type of urn and possibly on some elements of the funerary ritual associated with its burial. The same watching-brief also revealed the site of a truncated pit of medieval date, filled with fire-cracked stones
Excavation of two cairns, a cist and associated features at Sanaigmhor Warren, Islay, Argyll and Bute
A rescue excavation in a machair blow-out at Sanaigmhor Warren, Islay, recovered two urned cremations, one under a cairn comprised mainly of white quartz, and the other in a cist, associated with an orthostat. The cremations were radiocarbon dated to the IA. The paper sets these finds in their local and regional context, and briefly discusses burial practices in the period concerned. The Sanaigmhor Warren area is discussed in terms of its future …
The excavation of Cairnwell ring-cairn, Portlethen, Aberdeenshire
The ring-cairn was completely excavated prior to its reconstruction nearby. The site originally comprised an arc of pits, in use by the Neo period (4320±80 BP -- GU-4402) surrounding a stone circle which may have been of similar date. After a long hiatus, a pyre was burnt within the stone circle (3070±60 BP -- GU-4399). A timber enclosure, with an entrance to the south, was then erected within the stone circle and five urned cremations interred i…
Mesolithic and Early Neolithic in the Iron Gates: A Paiaeodietary Perspective
This paper is a study of diet and subsistence among Mesolithic and Early Neolithic populations in the Iron Gates section of the Danube Valley, with emphasis on the sites of Lepenski Vir and Vlasac in Serbia and Schela Oadovei in Romania. The first part of the paper reviews the evidence of animal and plant residues and human skeletal indicators; the second presents new data from stable isotopic analyses of human bone supported by AMS 14C dates. Is…
The excavation of a Neolithic, Bronze Age and Early Historic features near Ratho, Edinburgh
Excavations near Ratho in early summer 1993 yielded evidence for Neolithic, Bronze Age and Early Historic activity on the site. Neolithic features consisted of a small number of pits containing fragments of carinated bowls; the Bronze Age funerary remains were more extensive, including a ring-ditch which enclosed two cremations in cordoned urns, and one unurned cremation. There were also additional dispersed cists and pits containing burnt bone, …
Problems of dating human bones from the Iron Gates
It is widely recognized that when marine resources form a significant proportion of the human diet, this results in radiocarbon ages for human remains that are significantly older than the contemporary atmosphere. While there has been widespread assessment of marine14C reservoir ages, there has been little study of the freshwater equivalent. However, recent analyses of human bone from archaeological sites in the Danube Valley have confirmed the e…
Rewriting the end of the Early Bronze Age in the United Arab Emirates through the anthropological and artefactual evaluation of two collective Umm an‐Nar graves at Hili (eastern region of Abu Dhabi)
The Hili archaeological complex in Al Ain (U.A.E.) is important for its wealth of third‐millennium BC Umm an‐Nar burial and settlement sites. Two of the most significant burial sites are Tomb N at Hili and Tomb A Hili North. The latter is a classic circular Umm an‐Nar monumental grave, while Hili N is a pit‐grave, one of only two Umm an‐Nar period pit‐graves discovered so far in the U.A.E. Both of these tombs contained the remains of hundreds of …
New Approaches to a collective grave from the Umm An-Nar Period at Hili (UAE)
In the Oman peninsula, the Umm an-Nar circular tombs, easily seen in the landscape because of their monumental architecture, have usually been robbed for building stones and for their objects. This was not the case for a pit-grave discovered at Hili (United Arab Emirates) in 1984, which presented a stratigraphy nearly 2 meters deep, with 4 phases of main funeraiy deposits dating to the end of the Umm an-Nar period (ca 2 200-2 000 ВС). Such a stra…
New AMS 14 C Dates for Human Remains from Stone Age Sites in the Iron Gates Reach of the Danube, Southeast Europe
Archaeological investigations in the Iron Gates reach of the Lower Danube Valley between 1964 and 1984 revealed an important concentration of Stone Age sites, which together provide the most detailed record of Mesolithic and Early Neolithic settlement from any area of southeastern Europe. Over 425 human burials were excavated from 15 sites. Of these, less than one-fifth have been directly dated. This article presents 37 new AMS dates on human bon…
Violence in the first millennium BCE Eurasian steppe: Cranial trauma in three Turpan Basin populations from Xinjiang, China
OBJECTIVES: Violence affected daily life in prehistoric societies, especially at conflict zones where different peoples fought over resources and for other reasons. In this study, cranial trauma was analyzed to discuss the pattern of violence experienced by three Bronze to early Iron Age populations (1,000-100 BCE) that belonged to the Subeixi culture. These populations lived in the Turpan Basin, a conflict zone in the middle of the Eurasian Step…
Étude paléodémographique et utilisation du feu à Hili N, une sépulture collective en fosse de la fin de l'âge du Bronze ancien aux Émirats Arabes Unis
In 1983, next to one of the monumental circular tombs considered to be diagnostic for the Umm an-Nar Period (ca 2700-2000 BC), a collective burial in a pit-grave was discovered. The first objective of the present study is to establish whether this structure, dated to 2200-2000 BC, i.e. the end of the Early Bronze Age in the region, is associated with a specific funerary practice or to a selection of the buried individuals. The second is to define…
Food for Thought: Re-Assessing Mesolithic Diets in the Iron Gates
Stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur in human bone collagen are used routinely to aid in the reconstruction of ancient diets. Isotopic analysis of human remains from sites in the Iron Gates section of the Lower Danube Valley has led to conflicting interpretations of Mesolithic diets in this key region of southeast Europe. One view (Bonsall et al. 1997, 2004) is that diets were based mainly on riverine resources throughout the Mes…
Bosiliack and a Reconsideration of Entrance Graves
In 1984 the entrance grave at Bosiliack, Cornwall, was excavated by Charles Thomas on behalf of the Institute of Cornish Studies. It was a comparatively small example, approximately 5 m in diameter encircled by a substantial kerb. A deposit of cremated bone was found within the chamber accompanied by sherds of plain pottery from three vessels. Two radiocarbon determinations were obtained on the cremated bone. The dates were almost identical, fall…
The excavation of a Neolithic, Bronze Age and Early Historic features near Ratho, Edinburgh
Excavations near Ratho in early summer 1993 yielded evidence for Neolithic, Bronze Age and Early Historic activity on the site. Neolithic features consisted of a small number of pits containing fragments of carinated bowls; the Bronze Age funerary remains were more extensive, including a ring-ditch which enclosed two cremations in cordoned urns, and one unurned cremation. There were also additional dispersed cists and pits containing burnt bone, …
Excavation of a Bronze Age kerbed cairn at Olcote, Breasclete, Near Calanais, Isle of Lewis
An archaeological excavation was carried out by the Centre for Field Archaeology (CFA) from October to December 1995 of a Bronze Age kerbed cairn at Olcote, Breasclete, Isle of Lewis (NGR: NB 2180 3475). The cairn was discovered by CFA during an evaluation of a dense scatter of worked and unworked quartz made by local archaeologists, Margaret and Ron Curtis. The remains lay in the path of the improvement of the single track road through Breasclet…
The excavation of Cairnwell ring-cairn, Portlethen, Aberdeenshire
The ring-cairn was completely excavated prior to its reconstruction nearby. The site originally comprised an arc of pits, in use by the Neo period (4320±80 BP -- GU-4402) surrounding a stone circle which may have been of similar date. After a long hiatus, a pyre was burnt within the stone circle (3070±60 BP -- GU-4399). A timber enclosure, with an entrance to the south, was then erected within the stone circle and five urned cremations interred i…
The excavation of a Neolithic, Bronze Age and Early Historic features near Ratho, Edinburgh
Excavations near Ratho in early summer 1993 yielded evidence for Neolithic, Bronze Age and Early Historic activity on the site. Neolithic features consisted of a small number of pits containing fragments of carinated bowls; the Bronze Age funerary remains were more extensive, including a ring-ditch which enclosed two cremations in cordoned urns, and one unurned cremation. There were also additional dispersed cists and pits containing burnt bone, …
Mesolithic and Early Neolithic in the Iron Gates: A Paiaeodietary Perspective
This paper is a study of diet and subsistence among Mesolithic and Early Neolithic populations in the Iron Gates section of the Danube Valley, with emphasis on the sites of Lepenski Vir and Vlasac in Serbia and Schela Oadovei in Romania. The first part of the paper reviews the evidence of animal and plant residues and human skeletal indicators; the second presents new data from stable isotopic analyses of human bone supported by AMS 14C dates. Is…
The excavation of Cairnwell ring-cairn, Portlethen, Aberdeenshire
The ring-cairn was completely excavated prior to its reconstruction nearby. The site originally comprised an arc of pits, in use by the Neo period (4320±80 BP -- GU-4402) surrounding a stone circle which may have been of similar date. After a long hiatus, a pyre was burnt within the stone circle (3070±60 BP -- GU-4399). A timber enclosure, with an entrance to the south, was then erected within the stone circle and five urned cremations interred i…
Excavation of two cairns, a cist and associated features at Sanaigmhor Warren, Islay, Argyll and Bute
A rescue excavation in a machair blow-out at Sanaigmhor Warren, Islay, recovered two urned cremations, one under a cairn comprised mainly of white quartz, and the other in a cist, associated with an orthostat. The cremations were radiocarbon dated to the IA. The paper sets these finds in their local and regional context, and briefly discusses burial practices in the period concerned. The Sanaigmhor Warren area is discussed in terms of its future …
A Radiocarbon-dated Collared Urn from Oban
A collared urn was found during the course of a watching-brief on the raised beach on the north side of Oban bay. Post-excavation analysis has succeeded in throwing some further light on the chronology of this type of urn and possibly on some elements of the funerary ritual associated with its burial. The same watching-brief also revealed the site of a truncated pit of medieval date, filled with fire-cracked stones
Problems of dating human bones from the Iron Gates
It is widely recognized that when marine resources form a significant proportion of the human diet, this results in radiocarbon ages for human remains that are significantly older than the contemporary atmosphere. While there has been widespread assessment of marine14C reservoir ages, there has been little study of the freshwater equivalent. However, recent analyses of human bone from archaeological sites in the Danube Valley have confirmed the e…
Étude paléodémographique et utilisation du feu à Hili N, une sépulture collective en fosse de la fin de l'âge du Bronze ancien aux Émirats Arabes Unis
In 1983, next to one of the monumental circular tombs considered to be diagnostic for the Umm an-Nar Period (ca 2700-2000 BC), a collective burial in a pit-grave was discovered. The first objective of the present study is to establish whether this structure, dated to 2200-2000 BC, i.e. the end of the Early Bronze Age in the region, is associated with a specific funerary practice or to a selection of the buried individuals. The second is to define…
New Approaches to a collective grave from the Umm An-Nar Period at Hili (UAE)
In the Oman peninsula, the Umm an-Nar circular tombs, easily seen in the landscape because of their monumental architecture, have usually been robbed for building stones and for their objects. This was not the case for a pit-grave discovered at Hili (United Arab Emirates) in 1984, which presented a stratigraphy nearly 2 meters deep, with 4 phases of main funeraiy deposits dating to the end of the Umm an-Nar period (ca 2 200-2 000 ВС). Such a stra…
Excavation of a Bronze Age kerbed cairn at Olcote, Breasclete, Near Calanais, Isle of Lewis
An archaeological excavation was carried out by the Centre for Field Archaeology (CFA) from October to December 1995 of a Bronze Age kerbed cairn at Olcote, Breasclete, Isle of Lewis (NGR: NB 2180 3475). The cairn was discovered by CFA during an evaluation of a dense scatter of worked and unworked quartz made by local archaeologists, Margaret and Ron Curtis. The remains lay in the path of the improvement of the single track road through Breasclet…
Rewriting the end of the Early Bronze Age in the United Arab Emirates through the anthropological and artefactual evaluation of two collective Umm an‐Nar graves at Hili (eastern region of Abu Dhabi)
The Hili archaeological complex in Al Ain (U.A.E.) is important for its wealth of third‐millennium BC Umm an‐Nar burial and settlement sites. Two of the most significant burial sites are Tomb N at Hili and Tomb A Hili North. The latter is a classic circular Umm an‐Nar monumental grave, while Hili N is a pit‐grave, one of only two Umm an‐Nar period pit‐graves discovered so far in the U.A.E. Both of these tombs contained the remains of hundreds of …
Bosiliack and a Reconsideration of Entrance Graves
In 1984 the entrance grave at Bosiliack, Cornwall, was excavated by Charles Thomas on behalf of the Institute of Cornish Studies. It was a comparatively small example, approximately 5 m in diameter encircled by a substantial kerb. A deposit of cremated bone was found within the chamber accompanied by sherds of plain pottery from three vessels. Two radiocarbon determinations were obtained on the cremated bone. The dates were almost identical, fall…
New AMS 14 C Dates for Human Remains from Stone Age Sites in the Iron Gates Reach of the Danube, Southeast Europe
Archaeological investigations in the Iron Gates reach of the Lower Danube Valley between 1964 and 1984 revealed an important concentration of Stone Age sites, which together provide the most detailed record of Mesolithic and Early Neolithic settlement from any area of southeastern Europe. Over 425 human burials were excavated from 15 sites. Of these, less than one-fifth have been directly dated. This article presents 37 new AMS dates on human bon…
Food for Thought: Re-Assessing Mesolithic Diets in the Iron Gates
Stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur in human bone collagen are used routinely to aid in the reconstruction of ancient diets. Isotopic analysis of human remains from sites in the Iron Gates section of the Lower Danube Valley has led to conflicting interpretations of Mesolithic diets in this key region of southeast Europe. One view (Bonsall et al. 1997, 2004) is that diets were based mainly on riverine resources throughout the Mes…
The Beaker phenomenon and the genomic transformation of northwest Europe
Violence in the first millennium BCE Eurasian steppe: Cranial trauma in three Turpan Basin populations from Xinjiang, China
OBJECTIVES: Violence affected daily life in prehistoric societies, especially at conflict zones where different peoples fought over resources and for other reasons. In this study, cranial trauma was analyzed to discuss the pattern of violence experienced by three Bronze to early Iron Age populations (1,000-100 BCE) that belonged to the Subeixi culture. These populations lived in the Turpan Basin, a conflict zone in the middle of the Eurasian Step…
Archaeology (14 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (12 works) · Geography (12 works) · Geology (9 works) · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies (8 works) · Radiocarbon dating (7 works) · Excavation (6 works) · History (6 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (6 works) · Ancient history (5 works)