Meagan Lane

"It feeds into this new narrative that cattle were perhaps important as beasts of burden," she said, adding that cows could be used to carry more lightweight kit.

The jawbone dates back to the monument's very beginning in 2995 to 2900 BC and was placed in a ritually significant place.

Since its discovery, researchers have speculated about what the animal meant to the population building the monument near Salisbury in south-west England.

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.