The human remains just found at Stonehenge could change how we see the ancient world.
Stonehenge has flummoxed archeologists, poets, historians, educators, and religious leaders for centuries.
The mysterious ring of stones is clearly far more than just the subject of hilarious Norwegian comedy songs. Photo by Velvet/Wikimedia Commons.
Was it an ancient observatory? A concert venue? A sort of holistic hospital? Who built it? Early Britons? Druids? Merlin? Aliens?
Stonehenge was probably not built by balloon aliens, but it wasn't definitely not built by balloon aliens. Photo by Lewis Francis/Flickr.
While the jury is, largely, still out, many archeologists believe the ring of stones functioned, at least in part, as a a cemetery for notable people.
Photo by Christina Rutz/Flickr.
Though archeologists have known there were human remains under Stonehenge for around 100 years, no one thought much about them at first.
That all changed in 2013, when researchers discovered the remnants of dozens of individuals buried under and around the stone ring.
Artifacts discovered near the cremated bone fragments suggest these people were high status individuals in ancient society. Basically, they were "capital-b" Bigwigs. Celebrities. One-percenters.
For decades, archeologists assumed only men were buried at site, which would seem to jibe with the notion that those entombed at Stonehenge were prominent people in the neolithic world.
DNA evidence proved them wrong.
Roughly half of the (presumed) ancient leaders and celebrities buried under Stonehenge appear to be women.
Women! Photo by The White House/Flickr.
And now, there's even more evidence. Several weeks ago, the remains of 14 more women (and nine men) were excavated by researchers, according to Jennifer Viegas of Discovery News.
Like the rest of the remains found at Stonehenge, all of these women were buried between 3100 and 2140 B.C.
What, exactly, does this mean about women in the Stone Age?
No one really knows 100% for sure. Perhaps the women buried at Stonehenge were leaders in society. Perhaps they were family members of high status men. They might have had equal social standing in society, or not quite.
The one thing that seems pretty clear to researchers, though?
"The archaeology now shows that as far as the burials go, women were as prominent there as men. This contrasts with the earlier burial mounds, where men seem to be more prominent," archeologist Mike Pitts told Discovery News.
While it's still impossible to draw too many specific conclusions about the structure of ancient Briton society, the discovery is a reminder that progress toward gender equality hasn't been a straight line. In reality, it's been more like a wave.
According to Pitts, "Historical evidence has shown that women’s status has gone up and down quite noticeably at different times in the past."
Gloria Gaynor, chief architect of the latest upswing in gender equality. Dominique Aubert/Getty Images.
While men dominated most early agricultural societies, some studies suggest that gender equality was common in hunter-gatherer communities prior to the advent of farming. In Western culture, "traditional" gender roles were somewhat less clearly defined and enforced prior to the Victorian period when they were codified and entrenched, remaining rigid until the early 20th century, when they began to relax again.
"As the burials go, women were as prominent there as men."
It's unclear whether women in third millennium B.C. England had anything resembling actual equality while they were alive, but the evidence at least suggests their lives were equally honored after death.
Perhaps once we learn more about the women and men buried under Stonehenge, we'll have to stop describing regressive cultural attitudes as "Stone Age" like it's a bad thing.
At the very least, this latest discovery means the mystery of Stonehenge is slightly less mysterious now. More and more, it appears that the ancient wonder is a monument to men and women, living side-by-side and working together.
That deserves a hoorah.
GIF via Ylvis, TV Norge/YouTube.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.