The Loch Borralie evidence fits within this broader context but extends it in a specific direction.

The evidence from other sites is typically of skull presence in unusual contexts — in rivers, in pits, at settlements — without the kind of direct evidence of the specific processes through which those skulls were prepared or obtained.

At Loch Borralie, the internal cut marks on the skull provide direct evidence of a specific intervention: the use of a sharp tool on the interior of the skull, in a location that is consistent with the removal of brain tissue.

If the skull was being prepared for curation or display, the removal of the brain — which would otherwise decompose and potentially damage the skull from within — would be a logical step in that preparation.