Using cluster analysis and a geographic information system (GIS), this study attempted to identify a settlement system in the Dingle Peninsula of Early Christian Ireland based on the morphological variability of ringforts. Cluster analysis was used to determine if an intuitive ringfort typological model created by the author had validity. Use of cluster analysis identified three distinct classes of univallate ringfort. Although these clusters have a higher variable mean than anticipated, they do appear to verify partial validity of the author's model. With the exception of Cluster 1, it appears that the assumption that as unvallate ringfort banks increase in elaboration, than so does their internal diameter.ARC/INFO, a GIS was used to help test the hypothesized relationship between ringfort clusters. It was assumed that the univallate ringforts with the smallest banks would be very close to and in the line of sight of bivallate and mulitvallate ringforts. Those with an intermediate bank size would tend to be farther away and not in the line of sight of bivallate and multivallate ringforts. These assumptions were determined to be invalid. / Department of Anthropology

There is no abstract available for this thesis. / Department of Anthropology

Cremated bone occurs in many archaeological sites as small grey and white fragments. The high temperatures reached during heating induce structural, chemical and isotopic changes to bone apatite (the inorganic fraction of bone). These changes are investigated here by infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (d13C, d18O and 87Sr/86Sr) in both modern heated bone and archaeological cremated specimens. The results of various heating experiments (in laboratory and natural conditions) highlight the significant carbon and oxygen exchanges with the fuel used as well as with bone organic matter (mainly collagen). While not informing on dietary practice and hydrology as is the case with unburned bone, the d13C and d18O values of calcined samples together with infrared results provide information on the conditions in which the bone was heated (e.g. presence of fuel, size of the pyre, temperatures reached, dry or fresh bone, etc.). In parallel, the effect of heat on the strontium present in bone is minimal, if not undetectable. Furthermore, as observed through artificial contamination experiments, post-burial alterations also appear to be extremely limited, which is to be expected due to the higher crystallinity of calcined bone apatite compared to tooth enamel and unburned bone. These experiments demonstrate that calcined bone provides a reliable substrate for mobility studies using its strontium isotope composition. The application of these results to the study of six Neolithic and one Bronze Age sites from Ireland showed the possibility of discriminating cremated individuals that ate food originating from different regions, as well as highlighting possible variations in cremation practices between different sites. The results of this thesis greatly extend the application of strontium isotopes to places and periods in which cremation was the dominant mortuary practice, or where unburned bone and enamel do not survive. They also provide insights into the reconstruction of ancient cremation practices.