Evidence of absence: a case study of early neolithic human remains near Stonehenge world heritage site

A presence and absence study was undertaken in the Stonehenge World Heritage Site and around Salisbury to demonstrate the breadth of modern large‐scale archaeological investigation compared to known and recovered Early Neolithic features, especially those containing human remains. This suggests that the lack of both extant Early Neolithic features and corresponding skeletal remains is genuine and that a large portion of lived populations from this period are not represented, perhaps part of the ‘absent dead’. This demonstrates the paucity of Early Neolithic features and human remains outside known monumental sites which in turn highlights the selectiveness and exclusiveness of monumental burial.