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Archaeologists believe fingerprints left on a piece of Neolithic pottery belonged to two young men.
Further analysis identified two more prints, but only two of the three fingerprints had enough detail for archaeologists to study properly.
They think one was aged between 13 and 20 and the other 15 and 22.
How could archaeologists know the age and gender?
University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute said fingerprint components were known to differ according to age and sex.
It said the distance between ridges, for example, increased as an individual grew, while male ridges were usually broader.
The prints were examined by Prof Kent Fowler, director of the University of Manitoba s Ceramic Technology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Canada.
Submitting.
Earlier finds, including an arrow head and further pieces of broken vessel have suggested an Early Neolithic date (c3600-3200BC) for the Saverock settlement, meaning it pre-dates Skara Brae, Orkney’s best-known New Stone Age settlement by centuries.
Skara Brae was first occupied around 3,100 BC, it is believed.
Chris Gee, a project officers at University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute, has been investigating the area since 2014.
He said he believed two early Neolithic houses may have stood at Saverock.
He said: “Finding the saddle quern was just remarkable. I find it amazing that something like that can be found just below the plough line.
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