The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca
The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca
The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca
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<strong>The</strong> Lateglacial colonization <strong>of</strong> <strong>Britain</strong><br />
• 27 •<br />
That the pattern <strong>of</strong> raw material use in the Final Upper Palaeolithic may be part <strong>of</strong> a much<br />
wider phenomenon is suggested by observations made in the contemporary continental record.<br />
In west-central Germany, for example, the Federmessergruppen sites, unlike those <strong>of</strong> the Magdalenian,<br />
are characterized by artefacts made on fist-sized nodules, <strong>of</strong> variable quality. <strong>The</strong>y contain flints<br />
<strong>from</strong> a mixture <strong>of</strong> very lo<strong>ca</strong>l Rhine gravels and more distant (>100 km) sources in the Meuse<br />
gravels (Street in Fagnart and <strong>The</strong>venin 1997). A similar preference for smaller nodules is evident<br />
in contemporary industries in northern France. Although the key to this change in procurement<br />
strategy is not fully understood, it is possible that the different approaches to raw material in the<br />
Lateglacial should be regarded as complementary solutions to the same problem. That is, the<br />
circulation <strong>of</strong> blanks ‘stored’ in the form <strong>of</strong> small, whole nodules (Final Upper Palaeolithic) may<br />
have been just as effective, under certain circumstances, as Creswellian transportation <strong>of</strong> readymade<br />
large blades.<br />
Geographic distribution and subsistence economy<br />
<strong>The</strong> majority <strong>of</strong> the 150 Lateglacial findspots in <strong>Britain</strong> <strong>ca</strong>n be attributed with reasonable certainty<br />
to the Final Upper Palaeolithic. Of these, 39 are associated with finds <strong>of</strong> penknife points (Figure<br />
2.8), while many <strong>of</strong> the rest are identified by the occurrence <strong>of</strong> typologi<strong>ca</strong>lly related forms. Apart<br />
<strong>from</strong> being numeri<strong>ca</strong>lly superior to<br />
Creswellian examples, they also<br />
include a higher percentage <strong>of</strong> openair<br />
sites and generally have a wider<br />
geographi<strong>ca</strong>l distribution, which<br />
extends as far west as islands already<br />
isolated by higher sea-level, such as<br />
the Scillies. Since the majority <strong>of</strong><br />
typologi<strong>ca</strong>lly distinctive flint tools<br />
such as Cheddar points or penknife<br />
points are unlikely to have es<strong>ca</strong>ped<br />
attention, it seems that this<br />
distribution pattern reflects real<br />
differences in the territories<br />
exploited by both Lateglacial<br />
groupings.<br />
<strong>The</strong> spread <strong>of</strong> birch woodland<br />
and the general shift away <strong>from</strong> more<br />
open environments after about<br />
12,000 BP, must have had an effect<br />
on the amount and diversity <strong>of</strong><br />
available meat sources. Apart <strong>from</strong><br />
the addition <strong>of</strong> elk (Alces alces), which<br />
is known <strong>from</strong> surprisingly few<br />
records, red deer (Cervus elaphus), wild<br />
aurochs (Bos primigenius) and, to a<br />
lesser extent, wild horse (Equus ferus)<br />
continued to be present in the<br />
second half <strong>of</strong> the Interstadial. <strong>The</strong><br />
rarity <strong>of</strong> elk may be attributable to<br />
its solitary behaviour and the fact<br />
Figure 2.8 Distribution <strong>of</strong> Final Upper Palaeolithic penknife point findspots:<br />
1. Pixie’s Hole; 2. Broken Cavern; 3. Three Holes Cave; 4–5. King<br />
Arthur’s Cave/Symonds Yat East; 6. Mother Grundy’s Parlour.<br />
Source: After Jacobi in Barton et al. 1991