The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca

Hunter-gatherers of the Mesolithic
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areas in particular, many sites have tools made from coarse types of stone. Often these are
minimally altered beach pebbles, and are likely to have been used for detaching or processing
shellfish.
Tools made from organic materials are very rare (Figure 3.5). Only Star Carr and a set of
middens on the tiny Hebridean island of Oronsay have produced large quantities, although a
good sample has recently been acquired from An Corran, a rockshelter on Skye. The most
important are barbed points made from red deer antler, and antler mattocks. Barbed points
comprise two general types: uniserial points, with one line of barbs, are predominantly found in
the Early Mesolithic, while biserial points, often pierced to make harpoon-heads, tend to be
shorter and are recovered from Late Mesolithic coastal sites. There is considerable variability
within these types: five classes were identified at Star Carr.
Antler mattocks, perforated for hafting, have a working edge made by an oblique transverse
truncation of the antler beam (Smith in Bonsall 1989). Those from Star Carr are of elk antler,
while other sites produce examples made from red deer. Wear on their working edges includes
lustrous polishes, deep and angular striations, and flaking, and is most likely to derive from digging,
perhaps to remove roots or raw materials. Three Scottish examples were found associated with
whale skeletons, suggesting the removal of blubber.
Non-utilitarian artefacts
Artefacts of a less utilitarian nature are seldom found (Figure 3.6). A small number of beads
include shale examples at Nab Head in Dyfed (David in Bonsall 1989) and pierced cowrie shells
from Scottish middens (Simpson in Pollard and Morrison 1996). Red deer antler frontlets, the
bone below the antlers pierced so that they could be worn as masks, occur at Star Carr. Such
artefacts invite speculation: were they worn by shamans or perhaps as part of hunters’ disguise?
Very few decorated objects are known. A shale pebble from Nab Head appears to represent a
figurine or a phallus, but this surface find cannot be confidently attributed to the Mesolithic. A
piece of red deer antler from Romsey and a Bos bone from the Thames are engraved with chevrons
—a design frequent on Mesolithic objects from continental Europe; but, again, neither can be
definitely attributed to this period. The site of Rhuddlan (Clwyd) produced incised pebbles with
geometric designs: one was in a secure Mesolithic context and, in light of their stylistic unity, all
are likely to be Mesolithic.
Site features: pits, pestholes and dwellings
While small pits are common on Mesolithic sites, evidence for more substantial structures is rare.
The best is from Mount Sandel (Northern Ireland), discussed below. At sites such as Deepcar
(Yorkshire) and Morton (Fife: Coles 1971), traces of shelters, perhaps no more than windbreaks,
are present. Large depressions on sites including Cass Ny Hawin, Staosnaig (Colonsay: Mithen et
al. in Pollard and Morrison 1996), and Broom Hill, Hampshire, contain many charred fragments
of hazelnut shell, but whether these are the remains of hut floors, or specialized features for the
processing of plant foods, is unclear.
Faunal and floral assemblages
Animal bones are unfortunately infrequent on Mesolithic sites. The only reasonably sized samples
come from Star Carr and the Oronsay middens, with smaller but important collections at sites
such as Thatcham. Mainland samples are dominated by large herbivore remains—red deer, roe
deer, pig, aurochs and elk—species likely to have been regularly hunted.
Human bones are exceedingly rare. One site, Aveline’s Hole, a cave in the Mendip Hills, may
have been a cemetery, containing over 70 individuals (Smith 1992a). Little, however, survives