The Border of Farming and the Cultural Markers - Nordlige Verdener

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Secondly, as regards funerary practices,
the same NMS radiocarbon dating programme
has shown that the tradition of
cremation and deposition of the remains
in a cinerary urn – a practice in widespread
use elsewhere in Scotland – was
definitely in use in Shetland by the first
quarter of the second millennium, with
cremated bone from an urn of steatitic
clay from Culla Voe producing a date of
3475±40 BP (1890–1690 cal BC, GrA-
24056: Sheridan 2007b: 184). The possibility
that the Muckle Heog monument,
with its steatite vessels, might also date
to this period has also been mentioned
above; we know that steatite urns continued
to be exported to Orkney during
this period (ibid.).
Finally, the unfinished miniature battleaxeheads
found at the Ness of Gruting
(together with a finished example found
in the Sumburgh settlement: Downes &
Lamb 2000: 67 and fig. 29) indicate
awareness of, and participation in, the
‘vocabulary of esteem’ that was current
during the early second millennium BC
elsewhere in Britain. A similar miniature
battle-axehead, found in a child’s grave
along with a Food Vessel, in Doune,
Perth & Kinross, has been radiocarbon
dated to 3400±35 BP (1870–1610 cal
BC, SUERC-2869: Sheridan 2007b: 185)
and this is consistent with the dating of
full-sized versions of similar shape (ibid.:
175 and fig. 14.10). The presence of two
unfinished miniatures in the Ness of
Gruting house therefore suggests some
time-depth to the use of this structure.
Conclusions
From the foregoing it is clear that our
knowledge and understanding of the
Shetland Neolithic leaves a great deal
to be desired. While we can begin to
sketch an overall narrative, as attempted
here, the gaps in our knowledge are
substantial and much targeted fieldwork
will be necessary to address the many
outstanding questions.
However, it is clear that a particularly interesting
story is waiting to be told – of
episodes of contact with the outside
world (but not with Scandinavia!), interspersed
with periods when a strong
Shetlandic insular identity (as expressed,
for example, in architecture and material
culture) developed. It may be that the
practice of farming, and the beliefs,
practices and traditions that accompanied
this, arrived in Shetland from western
Scotland during the late 38 th or 37 th
century BC; further excavation at West
Voe, and investigation of the simplest
passage tombs (including Ronas Hill)
might help to clarify this. How these putative
incomers interacted with the indigenous
fisher-gatherer-hunter groups
(as attested at the lowest level of West
Voe) is unknown, although the 37 th century
activity at West Voe could conceiv-