A Bayesian Radiocarbon Chronology of the Early Neolithic of Yorkshire and Humberside

Anderson-Whymark

et al. 2017

Proc. Prehist. Soc.

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The western seaways -an arc of sea stretching from the Channel Islands in the south, up through the Isles of Scilly, the Isle of Man, and the Outer Hebrides to Orkney in the north -have long been seen as crucial to our understanding of the processes which led to the arrival of the Neolithic in Britain and Ireland in the centuries around 4000 cal BC. The western seaways have not, however, been considered in detail within any of the recent studies addressing the radiocarbon chronology of the earliest Neolithic in that wider region. This paper presents a synthesis of all existing 5th and 4th millennia cal BC radiocarbon dates from islands within the western seaways, including 50 new results obtained specifically for this study. While the focus here is insular in a literal sense, the project's results have far reaching implications for our understanding of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Britain and Ireland and beyond. The findings broadly fit well with the Gathering Time model of Whittle et al., suggesting that the earliest dated Neolithic in this zone falls into the c. 3900-3700 cal BC bracket. However, it is also noted that our current chronological understanding is based on comparatively few dates spread across a large area. Consequently, it is suggested that both further targeted work and an approach that incorporates an element of typo-chronology (as well as absolute dating) is necessary if we are to move forward our understanding of the processes associated with the appearance of the first Neolithic material culture and practices in this key region.

Section: Recent Chronologies Of the Mesolithic-neolithic Transitionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussion: Understanding Process Appreciating Representatimentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussion: Understanding Process Appreciating Representatimentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stepping Stones to the Neolithic? Radiocarbon Dating the Early Neolithic on Islands Within the ‘Western Seaways’ of Britain

Garrow¹,

Anderson-Whymark

et al. 2017

Proc. Prehist. Soc.

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“…At the regional scale, fine-grained chronology allows us new understandings of the context of change. This has included for example the demonstration for the first time of overlap between people using hunter-gatherer-fisher Mesolithic material culture and people engaging with Neolithic farming strategies in the same landscapes (Griffiths 2014a;2014b), and has identified regions where processes of neolithization were more complex than are previously recognized (Griffiths 2016).…”

Section: Dating the Neolithic Of Ireland And Britainmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Yorkshire and Humberside, UK, recent analysis of the available chronological evidence for late Mesolithic and early Neolithic activity has demonstrated that people used "Mesolithic" hunter-gatherer-fisher material culture at the same times as "Neolithic" people farmed and built monuments (Griffiths 2014a;2014b). There may be some spatial variation between these practices, with people using Mesolithic microlith technology present in the Pennine uplands to the west of the region, and people using domesticated plant and animal resources, pottery, polished stone axes, and building monuments to east of the region.…”

Section: Writing About Time: a British Neolithic Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

We’re All Cultural Historians Now: Revolutions In Understanding Archaeological Theory And Scientific Dating

2017

Radiocarbon

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ABSTRACT. Radiocarbon dating has had profound implications for archaeological understanding. These have been identified as various "revolutions", with the latest -Bayesian chronological statistical analyses of large datasets -hailed as a "revolution in understanding". This paper argues that the full implications of radiocarbon data and interpretation on archaeological theory have yet to be recognized, and it suggests that responses in Britain to earlier revolutions in archaeological understanding offer salutary lessons for contemporary archaeological practice. This paper draws on the work of David Clarke and Colin Renfrew to emphasize the importance of critical considerations of the relationships between archaeological theory and scientific method, and to emphasize that seemingly neutral aspects of archaeological thought are highly laden interpretatively, having significant implications for the kinds of archaeology that we write.

The Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition and the Chronology of the “elm decline”: A Case Study from Yorkshire and Humberside, United Kingdom

Gearey

2017

Radiocarbon

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The Neolithic in Britain saw the first appearance of domestic plant and animal resources, pottery, polished stone axes, monuments, and new house structures. With the introduction of domesticates and associated subsistence strategies, the Neolithic represents a significant change in human–environment interaction. Other changes have been observed in the palynological record of Britain in the early fourth millennium cal BC, including the elm decline, and archaeologists and paleobotanists have long discussed the degree of human involvement in this. This paper presents the first Bayesian statistical analysis of the elm decline using the case study of the east of Yorkshire and Humberside and key sites in west Yorkshire, and evidence for the last hunter-gatherer Mesolithic material culture and the first Neolithic material culture record. This region is critical because it is the only area of Britain and Ireland where we have robust and accurate published estimates for the timing of the latest Mesolithic activity and timing for the earliest Neolithic activity. Unpacking this perceived chronological correlation between the elm decline and the start of the Neolithic is critical to understanding the scale of human–environment modification at this time, and the nature of the first Neolithic societies in Britain.