Mesolithic Settlement in the North Sea Basin

Mesolithic Settlement in the North Sea Basin PDF Author: Clive Waddington
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN: 1782974601
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 426

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Book Description
The archaeological remains at Howick consist of a Mesolithic hut site and an Early Bronze Age cist cemetery located on a modern cliff edge overlooking a small estuary. This volume is devoted solely to the reporting and interpretation of the Mesolithic remains. Three huts had been constructed on the Howick site, all on the same footprint, with no evidence to indicate a gap between these occupations, and the remains inside the hut were all consistent with its use as a habitation site. The lithic material from Howick is the most accurately dated assemblage from any British Mesolithic site and is a classic example of a narrow-blade industry. Typically for Britain these sites date from around 7500 cal BC but the Howick dates indicate an earlier start for this type of industry. The chipped stone assemblage from Howick is all made from locally occurring beach pebble flint which fits into the wider pattern of localised raw material acquisition by groups elsewhere in North-East England. A wide variety of tool types were found within the hut reflecting the diverse activities that appear to have taken place there. With such a wide range of resources on offer on a year-round basis, the site is interpreted as a base camp settlement that was used by the same group and their descendants over a period of several generations lasting for somewhere in the region of 200 years. The size of the hut indicates its use by a family-sized group. The Howick excavations have forced a rethink of the scale and nature of Mesolithic settlement in North-East England, as well as the relationship between this and other regions around the North Sea Basin. It is hoped that this work will help encourage further research into the Mesolithic of the region and its interactions with adjacent areas of upland, other North Sea Basin communities, as well as groups occupying the lands further north and south.

Mesolithic Settlement in the North Sea Basin

Mesolithic Settlement in the North Sea Basin PDF Author: Clive Waddington
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN: 1782974601
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 426

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Book Description
The archaeological remains at Howick consist of a Mesolithic hut site and an Early Bronze Age cist cemetery located on a modern cliff edge overlooking a small estuary. This volume is devoted solely to the reporting and interpretation of the Mesolithic remains. Three huts had been constructed on the Howick site, all on the same footprint, with no evidence to indicate a gap between these occupations, and the remains inside the hut were all consistent with its use as a habitation site. The lithic material from Howick is the most accurately dated assemblage from any British Mesolithic site and is a classic example of a narrow-blade industry. Typically for Britain these sites date from around 7500 cal BC but the Howick dates indicate an earlier start for this type of industry. The chipped stone assemblage from Howick is all made from locally occurring beach pebble flint which fits into the wider pattern of localised raw material acquisition by groups elsewhere in North-East England. A wide variety of tool types were found within the hut reflecting the diverse activities that appear to have taken place there. With such a wide range of resources on offer on a year-round basis, the site is interpreted as a base camp settlement that was used by the same group and their descendants over a period of several generations lasting for somewhere in the region of 200 years. The size of the hut indicates its use by a family-sized group. The Howick excavations have forced a rethink of the scale and nature of Mesolithic settlement in North-East England, as well as the relationship between this and other regions around the North Sea Basin. It is hoped that this work will help encourage further research into the Mesolithic of the region and its interactions with adjacent areas of upland, other North Sea Basin communities, as well as groups occupying the lands further north and south.

Mesolithic Studies in the North Sea Basin and Beyond

Mesolithic Studies in the North Sea Basin and Beyond PDF Author: Clive Waddington
Publisher: Oxbow Books Limited
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
The North Sea has acted as both physical barrier, separating regions from each other, and as the principal means of communication between the same. This duality can also be seen in its potential to be both yielding and destructive; providing food and resources, but also being capable of causing catastrophe. These paradoxical qualities are unlikely to have been lost on our hunter-gatherer ancestors, and they remain relevant to the way that the sea is perceived today. The sixteen papers in this edited volume look at the impact the North Sea had on Northern Europe in the Mesolithic period.

The Mesolithic in Britain

The Mesolithic in Britain PDF Author: Chantal Conneller
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000475158
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 437

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Book Description
The Mesolithic in Britain proposes a new division of the Mesolithic period into four parts, each with its distinct character. The Mesolithic has previously been seen as timeless, where little changed over thousands of years. This new synthesis draws on advances in scientific dating to understand the Mesolithic inhabitation of Britain as a historical process. The period was, in fact, a time of profound change: houses, monuments, middens, long-term use of sites and regions, manipulation of the environment and the symbolic deposition of human and animal remains all emerged as significant practices in Britain for the first time. The book describes the lives of the first pioneers in the Early Mesolithic; the emergence of new modes of inhabitation in the Middle Mesolithic; the regionally diverse settlement of the Late Mesolithic; and the radical changes of the final millennium of the period. The first synthesis of Mesolithic Britain since 1932, it takes both a chronological and a regional approach. This book will serve as an essential text for anyone studying the period: undergraduate and graduate students, specialists in the field and community archaeology groups.

The Archaeology of Europe’s Drowned Landscapes

The Archaeology of Europe’s Drowned Landscapes PDF Author: Geoff Bailey
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030373673
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 569

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Book Description
This open access volume provides for the first time a comprehensive description and scientific evaluation of underwater archaeological finds referring to human occupation of the continental shelf around the coastlines of Europe and the Mediterranean when sea levels were lower than present. These are the largest body of underwater finds worldwide, amounting to over 2500 find spots, ranging from individual stone tools to underwater villages with unique conditions of preservation. The material reviewed here ranges in date from the Lower Palaeolithic period to the Bronze Age and covers 20 countries bordering all the major marine basins from the Atlantic coasts of Ireland and Norway to the Black Sea, and from the western Baltic to the eastern Mediterranean. The finds from each country are presented in their archaeological context, with information on the history of discovery, conditions of preservation and visibility, their relationship to regional changes in sea-level and coastal geomorphology, and the institutional arrangements for their investigation and protection. Editorial introductions summarise the findings from each of the major marine basins. There is also a final section with extensive discussion of the historical background and the legal and regulatory frameworks that inform the management of the underwater cultural heritage and collaboration between offshore industries, archaeologists and government agencies. The volume is based on the work of COST Action TD0902 SPLASHCOS, a multi-disciplinary and multi-national research network supported by the EU-funded COST organisation (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). The primary readership is research and professional archaeologists, marine and Quaternary scientists, cultural-heritage managers, commercial and governmental organisations, policy makers, and all those with an interest in the sea floor of the continental shelf and the human impact of changes in climate, sea-level and coastal geomorphology.

Sea-level Change in Mesolithic Southern Scandinavia

Sea-level Change in Mesolithic Southern Scandinavia PDF Author: Peter Moe Astrup
Publisher: Aarhus Universitetsforlag
ISBN: 8793423365
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 207

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Book Description
The seabed in southern Scandinavia contains numerous traces of a submerged landscape that is thought to be the remnant of a once important habitat for Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Large parts of this landscape were gradually flooded by rising seas between 9500 and 4000 BC and perceptions of the Maglemose culture (9500-6400 BC) have, consequently, been based almost exclusively on former inland settlements. As a result, Early and Late Mesolithic societies have been understood as almost diametrically opposed with regards to their reliance upon marine resources and their degree of sedentism. The main objective of the book is to investigate two questions that are directly related to our current understanding of the populations of the now submerged areas: 1) Do we have a representative picture of the spread of Early Mesolithic sites in southern Scandinavia, or does the weighting towards inland sites reflect the fact that coastal sites have not been identified below present-day sea-level? 2) How did sea-level changes impact Mesolithic populations at different temporal and spatial scales, and how were these experienced from 8000-4000 BC? The book presents an extensive and up-to-date review of various types of evidence from the Boreal period such as faunal remains, fishing instruments, d13C values in bones, settlement positions and available marine resources. These are used to discuss the extent to which marine resources were utilised in the Maglemose culture. Another central component of this book is a series of new coastline models made to determine the Mesolithic sea-level changes / coastline positions. The eight new coastline models are created to facilitate new evaluations of possible relationships between sea-level changes and cultural changes. On the basis of the new coastline models the book also presents the preliminary results of 47 diver investigations conducted with the aim of identifying potential coastal settlements from the Maglemose culture.

From Bann Flakes to Bushmills

From Bann Flakes to Bushmills PDF Author: Nyree Finlay
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN: 1782973370
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 371

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Book Description
This volume of papers is dedicated to Peter Woodman in celebration of his contribution to archaeology, providing a glimpse of the many ways in which he has touched the lives of so many. The twenty-one contributions cover many aspects of predominantly Mesolithic archaeology in Ireland, mainland Britain and North-west Europe, reflecting the range and breadth of Peters own interests and the international esteem in which his work is held. His particular interest in antiquarians and the material they collected began early in his career and Part 1 presents papers which deal with artefacts and finds by antiquarians. Part 2 is concerned with papers on fieldwork projects, both new sites and sites which have been re-investigated, predominantly focusing on the Mesolithic period. Part 3 presents papers on the theme of people and animals, particularly the topic of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition from different angles.

North Sea Archaeologies

North Sea Archaeologies PDF Author: Robert Van de Noort
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191634379
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
This innovative study offers an up-to-date analysis of the archaeology of the North Sea. Robert Van de Noort traces the way people engaged with the North Sea from the end of the last ice age, around 10,000 BC, to the close of the Middle Ages, about AD 1500. Van de Noort draws upon archaeological research from many countries, including the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Belgium and France, and addresses topics which include the first interactions of people with the emerging North Sea, the origin and development of fishing, the creation of coastal landscapes, the importance of islands and archipelagos, the development of seafaring ships and their use by early seafarers and pirates, and the treatments of boats and ships at the end of their useful lives.

Advances in Irish Quaternary Studies

Advances in Irish Quaternary Studies PDF Author: Peter Coxon
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9462392196
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
This book provides a new synthesis of the published research on the Quaternary of Ireland. It reviews a number of significant advances in the last three decades on the understanding of the pattern and chronology of the Irish Quaternary glacial, interglacial, floristic and occupation records. Those utilising the latest technology have enabled significant advances in geochronology using accelerated mass spectrometry, cosmogenic nuclide extraction and optically stimulated luminescence amongst others. This has been commensurate with high-resolution geomorphological mapping of the Irish land surface and continental shelf using a wide range of remote sensing techniques including MBES and LIDAR. Thus the time is ideal for a state of the art publication, which provides a series of authoritative reviews of the Irish Quaternary incorporating these most recent advances.

Submarine Prehistoric Archaeology of the North Sea

Submarine Prehistoric Archaeology of the North Sea PDF Author: Nicholas Coit Flemming
Publisher: Council for British Archaeology(GB)
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Book Description
This fascinating volume on submerged prehistoric landscapes of the North Sea brings together for the first time comparative archaeological evidence from Norway, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, and the UK. The reports describe a range of submerged sites, and artefacts, occupied or used during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene periods of glacially controlled low sea level when large areas of the north-west European continental shelf were dry land. They show that Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic peoples created settlements on the contemporaneous coastlines at periods of low sea level, and probably in the hinterlands of the central North Sea, sometimes known as Doggerland. The age of most known submerged sites is in the range of 8000-5000 years ago, but older submerged sites have been discovered outside the North Sea region.As well as recording existing findings, the contributions analyse the potential for prehistoric archaeology research on the floor of the North Sea, and plan those subjects most requiring study, The volume also recommends ways to cooperate - across national boundaries and with industry - on future research and protection of prehistoric sites on the sea floor.

Europe's Lost Frontiers: Volume 1

Europe's Lost Frontiers: Volume 1 PDF Author: Vincent Gaffney
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1803272694
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
Europe’s Lost Frontiers was the largest directed archaeological research project in Europe, investigating the inundated landscapes of the Early Holocene North Sea – often referred to as ‘Doggerland’. The first in a series of monographs presenting the results of the project, this book provides the context of the study and method statements.