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
Chapter Three Hunter-gatherers of the Mesolithic Steven Mithen The last Ice Age came to an end 10,000 radiocarbon years ago. Tundra landscapes that supported reindeer herds were colonized by birch and soon became thick deciduous woodland with dispersed fauna including red deer and pine marten. Except in the far north, relative sea-levels rose so that Britain, formerly a peninsula of Europe, had become an island by 8,500 years ago. In this rapidly changing environment, people continued to live by hunting and gathering for several thousand years until agriculture became an established way of life. This period was the Mesolithic (Figure 3.1). THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT FOR MESOLITHIC SETTLEMENT Eighteen thousand radiocarbon years ago, ice sheets extended southwards to central England, beyond which lay an uninhabited polar desert. As the climate improved, Lateglacial hunters again came northwards (Chapter 2). By 10,000 years ago, the global warming that marks the end of the Pleistocene was established: in a few decades, temperatures rose Figure 3.1 Mesolithic sites referred to in this chapter.
• 36 • Steven Mithen substantially, causing more ice to melt and the sea-level to rise. Insects, plants and animals began to colonize, initiating an ecological succession that climaxed with mixed deciduous forest over much of Britain by 8,000 years ago. Technological changes at the Pleistocene-Holocene (Postglacial) interface are complex and blurred, but by 10,000 years ago people had adopted microliths (discussed below) as a dominant component of their toolkits. The earliest Mesolithic sites, such as Star Carr (Yorkshire) and Thatcham (Berkshire), were created in relatively open landscapes in which birch and pine were the principal trees—probably quite similar to northern Scandinavia today. Palynology demonstrates how the relative amounts of pollen from different trees, herbs and grasses have changed through time (Figure 3.2). Supplementary information can be gained from macro-plant remains, such as seeds and catkin scales, trapped in sediments; in some cases, detailed environmental reconstruction is feasible. At Star Carr, for instance, the Mesolithic hunter-gatherers camped next to reedswamp vegetation fringed by stands of birch. As time passed, the reedswamp was replaced by marsh ferns, and then by sedges and willow. On dry land, ferus were always present amongst birch woodland into which pine infiltrated. As climate ameliorated further, such woodland was progressively replaced by much denser mixed deciduous woodland, in which hazel, oak, lime and elm were significant. In relatively wet areas, alder and willow flourished. As this vegetation became established, so too did new animal communities in which red deer, roe deer and wild pig were dominant among the larger herbivores. Figure 3.2 Pollen diagram from the lake centre at Star Carr, illustrating vegetation change in the Lateglacial and Early to Mid Postglacial. Source: Day, P., 1996. ‘Devensian late-glacial and early Flandrian environmental history of the Vale of Pickering, Yorkshire, England’, Journal of Quaternary Science 11, 9–24
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Chapter Three<br />
Hunter-gatherers <strong>of</strong> the Mesolithic<br />
Steven Mithen<br />
<strong>The</strong> last Ice Age <strong>ca</strong>me to an end<br />
10,000 radio<strong>ca</strong>rbon years ago.<br />
Tundra lands<strong>ca</strong>pes that supported<br />
reindeer herds were colonized by<br />
birch and soon be<strong>ca</strong>me thick<br />
deciduous woodland with dispersed<br />
fauna including red deer and pine<br />
marten. Except in the far north,<br />
relative sea-levels rose so that<br />
<strong>Britain</strong>, formerly a peninsula <strong>of</strong><br />
Europe, had become an island by<br />
8,500 years ago. In this rapidly<br />
changing environment, people<br />
continued to live by hunting and<br />
gathering for several thousand years<br />
until agriculture be<strong>ca</strong>me an<br />
established way <strong>of</strong> life. This period<br />
was the Mesolithic (Figure 3.1).<br />
THE ENVIRONMENTAL<br />
CONTEXT FOR<br />
MESOLITHIC SETTLEMENT<br />
Eighteen thousand radio<strong>ca</strong>rbon<br />
years ago, ice sheets extended<br />
southwards to central England,<br />
beyond which lay an uninhabited<br />
polar desert. As the climate<br />
improved, Lateglacial hunters again<br />
<strong>ca</strong>me northwards (Chapter 2). By<br />
10,000 years ago, the global warming<br />
that marks the end <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Pleistocene was established: in a few<br />
de<strong>ca</strong>des, temperatures rose Figure 3.1 Mesolithic sites referred to in this chapter.
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