09/04/2025
The molar, about an inch (2.5cm) tall, would have grown incrementally, with the bottom near the gum the youngest part and the tooth representing six months of life for the animal from winter to summer during its second year.
The researchers were able to measure carbon, oxygen, strontium and lead isotopes from the tooth which revealed changes to the animal's diet with the seasons and showed seasonal food sources came from different geological areas.
This suggests the cow either moved seasonally or that winter fodder was imported, they said.
The lead isotopes revealed composition spikes during the late winter to spring, pointing to a lead source that was older than the lead in the rest of the tooth, the research found.
"The composition suggests the cow originated from an area with Palaeozoic rocks, such as the bluestones found in Wales, before moving to Stonehenge," the scientists concluded.
