ORKNEY ISLANDS, SCOTLAND—Bones discovered in Neolithic tombs on the Orkney Islands tend to be mixed together in a way that make them seem unconnected. But, according to a report from BBC News, a new study suggests there is more order to the collections than meets the eye. Based on her analysis of the bones, archaeologist Rebecca Crozier of the University of Aberdeen has concluded that complete bodies were likely deposited in the chambered structures and then taken apart later. “When we look at these assemblages we're finding that all the elements of the human body—so, every single bone—is present at some level within the tomb," Crozier said. She believes that people may have gone into the tombs after the burial and dismembered the bodies, possibly to help ensure that all the remains in a given tomb decayed at the same rate. To read in-depth about archaeology on the Orkney Islands, go to “Neolithic Europe's Remote Heart.”
