Beaker pottery

The Achavanich site in Caithness, Scotland, is significant for the well-preserved Beaker pottery and unique crouched burial of a young woman named “Ava,” dating back to around 2300-2200 BCE. The pottery is characteristic of Beaker culture, with a bell-shaped profile and intricate geometric patterns. Ava’s burial, distinguished by her unusual position and the accompanying artefacts like a barbed and tanged arrowhead, provides critical insights into the cultural and burial practices of the Beaker people. Further, genetic analyses and forensic reconstructions of Ava have offered a glimpse into the physical attributes and lifestyles of the Beaker people in Early Bronze Age Scotland, suggesting traits like dark hair and eyes and a likely prevalence of lactose intolerance.

Beaker pottery is also found in North Mains, Strathallan, dating to around 2200 BCE–2100 BCE, and Forteviot, Perthshire, approximately dating to 2200 BCE–2000 BCE