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Home » Physical Environment/Landscape » Natural history » Bones

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  • This skull has been dated to the Neolithic period (c. 6000 - 4000BC). At this time the burial of individuals in caves was a common practice and it is speculated that caves were viewed as 'houses for the dead' to complement the houses that were occupied in life. The remains of the individual from Pant-y-wennol have been analysed using a new and exciting archaeological technique known as stable isotope analysis. By studying the proportion of minor elements within the bone, archaeologists can gain an insight into the diet that the subject enjoyed in the six months or so before death. In the case of this person, and many others from this time, it seems that the majority of food was hunted and gathered from the land, rather than the sea.
Part of human skull found at Pant-y-wennol cave, Llandudno
  • Welsh caves were used as shelters by animals as well as humans throughout the last Ice Age. This skull is from a brown bear that was found at the back of the cave. It presumably died whilst hibernating through a long Ice Age winter. Needless to say, the cave was unlikely to have been occupied by humans at this time.
Skull of a bear found in Pontnewydd Cave, Denbighshire, c. 28,000 years old
  • This image shows an upper jaw fragment of a child aged about 11 years with a worn milk tooth and a permanent molar still in place in the jaw. This comes from an early Neanderthal found during excavations at Pontnewydd Cave, Denbighshire.
Early Neanderthal jaw fragment, c. 230,000 years old
  • This image shows a bone flute made on a sheep metapodial bone. It has three holes and may either have been a simple flute or whistle. The larger hole may have been the blow-hole. This is the oldest dated musical instrument found from Wales.
Bone flute made by Wales' first farmers, c. 6,000 years ago.
  • This image shows a human rib, embedded in it is the tip of an arrowhead. Was this arrow the cause of this person's death? It is unlikely that this blow would have killed the person, as it has penetrated the rib, rather than the organs which the rib cage protects. Perhaps the second shot hit its mark and the person died as a result of that arrow?
Part of a human rib struck by a weapon, c. 5,000 years old
  • In August 1958 the remains of 'Brymbo Beaker Man' were discovered in a burial cist at Brymbo, near Wrexham. The cist measured 96.25cm x 78.75cm and was covered by a large sandstone capstone. The incomplete human skeleton found inside was that of an early Bronze Age male. 'Brymbo Man', as he became known, is Wrexham's oldest resident, some 3,500 years old. Archaeologists believe he was 173 cms (5 feet 8 inches) tall and aged between 35 and 40 years. He was found with a flint knife and an earthenware beaker which had been buried with him. The find was taken to the National Museum in Cardiff until May 1998 when it was returned to Wrexham. In 2001 Manchester University produced a wax model reconstruction of the skull which can also be seen in the galleries of Wrexham Museum.
The remains of 'Brymbo Man', c. 1635 B.C. [image 1 of 2]