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

Hunter-gatherers of the Mesolithic
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Further excavations were undertaken in 1989 (Healey et al. 1992). These extended the occupation
into the Later Mesolithic. Palynological study of nearby sediments indicates smallscale clearings
within pine and hazel woodland. Wear traces on newly excavated artefacts suggest that a wide
range of activities, using various raw materials, occurred, implying that Thatcham had been a
base camp. Its location in a river valley with easy access to varied land and aquatic resources
supports this view. Many other Mesolithic sites are now known in the Kennet Valley.
Oakhanger, Hampshire
Numerous Mesolithic artefact scatters are known at Oakhanger (Jacobi 1981), from sites that
span the Early (e.g. Oakhanger II, V, VII, X and XI) and Later (e.g. Oakhanger III, VIII and XX)
Mesolithic. Some assemblages are substantial: Oakhanger V provided 85,000 artefacts and site
VII 105,678 artefacts; these are in fact parts of a single site now bisected by a road. Most of the
material consists of debris from tool making. The tools are dominated by microliths but truncated
blades, burins, core adzes and finely serrated blades occur. The quantities of artefacts imply
repeated occupations; at site V, six hearths are evident within the artefact distribution. Oakhanger
VII, a site for which several radiocarbon dates have a mean of 9045±66 BP, is intriguing: it
displays some stratification, with Horsham points appearing in the upper level only. This array of
sites indicates that people had repeatedly returned to this part of their landscape, which must
have been a favoured location for hunting and gathering.
Farm Fields, Kinloch, Rum
This, the earliest dated occupation (Wickham-Jones
1990) in Scotland, has uncalibrated dates of 8,500
years BP. Located at the head of a large bay, the site
provided a landing place for people crossing,
probably in coracles or canoes, to Rum. The island
may have been attractive due to the locally available
‘bloodstone’ —a term used for cryptocrystalline
silicas that can be flaked much as flint. Farm Fields
(Figure 3.7) is typical of many Mesolithic sites in
being a palimpsest of many occupations,
incorporating numerous small pits of uncertain
function. The artefacts, similar to those from
contemporary English sites, are dominated by small
geometric microliths, particularly scalene triangles.
It is likely that earlier Mesolithic sites in Scotland
await discovery. Glenbatrick on Jura has broad blade
microliths that should be contemporary with the
Early Mesolithic in England, while a few tanged
points may be indicative of Lateglacial occupation,
perhaps by far-flung hunting parties.
The Oronsay middens
Oronsay, a tiny island adjacent to the larger Colonsay,
lies in the southern Hebrides. It has six Mesolithic
shell middens, a remarkable density that remains
unexplained. In recent times, however, the island has
been a breeding ground for seals, which perhaps
Figure 3.7 Excavations at Farm Fields, Rum (Caroline
Wickham Jones)