Britain and Ireland inside Mesolithic Europe

Warren, Graeme

doi:10.2307/j.ctvh1dj3c.7

Cited by 7 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…One of the long-standing unresolved questions of Irish archaeology is the delay in human occupation relative to mainland Britain. While the pre-LGM absence is probably partly explicable by taphonomy and Ireland's peripheral location, the Late Glacial and Mesolithic delay is more uncertain, certainly in light of the observation (see above) that sea crossings were probably not an obstacle (Warren 2015a).…”

Section: Coastal Adaptation and Initial Colonisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bone artefacts also differ as the barbed points of the British Mesolithic are not present in Ireland; instead, slender points without barbs were used (Woodman 2012(Woodman , 2015. Effectively, this means that the British Late Mesolithic can be regarded as equivalent to the Irish Earlier Mesolithic, while the Irish Later Mesolithic has no parallels in mainland Britain (Warren 2015a). For the rest of this chapter, unless otherwise stated, the terms 'Earlier' and 'Later Mesolithic' will be used by reference to the Irish typochronology.…”

Section: Archaeological Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This, however, is at odds with the evidence for seafaring described above, including the Isle of Man material. Alternatively, it might be taken as evidence of deliberate cultural differentiation in response to high levels of maritime connectivity (Garrow and Sturt 2011;Cooney et al 2012;Bell and Warren 2013;Warren 2015aWarren , 2017.…”

Section: Seafaringmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An ability to cross even greater distances to reach Ireland would provide greater substantiation of the maritime abilities of these hunter-gatherers. Indeed, that such abilities were present is perhaps unsurprising in light of the extensive but indirect evidence from Scandinavia (the majority of Fosna/ Hensbacka sites are located on palaeoshorelines, outer coasts and islands from c. 11,700-11,500 cal BP onwards in western Sweden and Norway) indicative of boat use and suggestive of seal hunting (Schmitt 2015;Schmitt and Svedhage 2015;Bjerck 2017) and the hypothesised links between Scandinavian Fosna/ Hensbacka and Scottish groups across the Doggerland region during the GS-1/Holocene transition (Warren 2015a;Ballin and Bjerck 2016).…”

Section: Seafaringmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reasons postulated for the delay centre on the impoverished nature of the Late Glacial Irish fauna, which lacked large her-bivores other than giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus), small numbers of reindeer (but only towards the end of the GI-1 interstadial) and possibly red deer (Montgomery et al 2014;Monaghan 2017). Crucially, horse, a key resource for British Late Glacial hunters, was absent from Ireland (Woodman 2015;Warren 2015aWarren , 2017.…”

Section: Coastal Adaptation and Initial Colonisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Ireland: Submerged Prehistoric Sites and Landscapes

Westley

Woodman

2020

Coastal Research Library

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Evidence of Ireland's drowned landscapes and settlements presently comprises 50 sites spread across the entire island. These comprise mainly intertidal find spots or small collections of flint artefacts. A handful of fully subtidal sites are known, generally from nearshore regions and consisting, with one exception, of isolated single finds. Evidence of organic remains is also sparse, with the exception of Mesolithic and Neolithic wooden fish traps buried in estuarine sediments under Dublin. The relatively small number of sites is probably due to lack of research as much as taphonomic issues, and thus the current evidence hints at the potential archaeological record which may be found underwater. Such evidence could contribute to knowledge of the coastal adaptations and seafaring abilities of Ireland's earliest inhabitants. Nonetheless, taphonomic considerations, specifically relating to Ireland's history of glaciation, sea-level change and also modern oceanographic conditions likely limit the preservation of submerged landscapes and their associated archaeology. Realistically, the Irish shelf is likely characterised by pockets of preservation, which makes detection and study of submerged landscapes difficult but not impossible. A range of potential routes of investigation are identifiable, including site-scale archaeological survey, landscape-scale seabed mapping, archival research and community engagement.

show abstract

Section: Coastal Adaptation and Initial Colonisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Archaeological Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Seafaringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Seafaringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Coastal Adaptation and Initial Colonisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Ireland: Submerged Prehistoric Sites and Landscapes

Westley

Woodman

2020

Coastal Research Library

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Evaluating the impact of the Storegga tsunami on Mesolithic communities in Northumberland

Sharrocks,

Hill

2023

J Quaternary Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Holocene Storegga tsunami, 8120–8175 cal a bp, resulted in run‐up heights of up to 3–6 m around mainland UK and coincided with a suggested large population decline in the coastally focused Mesolithic population in Northern Britain. At Howick, Northumberland, the site of a Mesolithic settlement, a nearby sediment deposit may be of tsunamigenic origin, but this is uncertain. Here, a numerical model was used to simulate the Storegga tsunami in Northumberland. Two scenarios of relative sea‐level change, and a third incorporating high tide, were simulated with mortality estimated within the intertidal zone for the Mesolithic sites in the region. The results showed that only with the addition of high tide could the sediment deposit site have been inundated by the tsunami. At Howick, mortality estimates varied but were up to 100% within the resource‐rich intertidal zone. The tsunami inundated a large area and would have led to the loss of key resources such as hazelnuts prior to the winter months. These combined effects would have probably been replicated throughout coastal settlements in Northern Britain, possibly leading to the contemporary population decline estimated to have occurred at this time.

show abstract

'...where they pass their unenterprising existence...': change over time in the Mesolithic of Ireland as shown in radiocarbon-dated activity

Chapple¹,

McLaughlin²,

Warren³

2022

Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper presents the first detailed audit and analysis of radiocarbon-dated Mesolithic activity in Ireland. This provides a data set of 119 definite or possible sites and nearly 450 dates. This data set is reviewed to understand how changes in the character of archaeological activity and other biasing factors influence the distribution of radiocarbon dates across space and time. We present very different outcomes than previously published reviews, especially regarding the claimed impact of the 8200 cal BP climatic downturn. This is an outcome of the more reliable data set presented here. Some of the patterns identified are a product of sampling strategies, such as a peak in Earlier Mesolithic activity attributable to multiple dates from Mount Sandel. Others relate to restructuring of activity by hunter-gatherers leading to significant changes to the archaeological visibility of that activity at the change from Earlier to Later Mesolithic. Increasing numbers of radiocarbon dates at the end of the period, alongside the changing character of the archaeological evidence, may indicate low levels of population growth.

show abstract

Britain and Ireland inside Mesolithic Europe

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Ireland: Submerged Prehistoric Sites and Landscapes

Ireland: Submerged Prehistoric Sites and Landscapes

Evaluating the impact of the Storegga tsunami on Mesolithic communities in Northumberland

'...where they pass their unenterprising existence...': change over time in the Mesolithic of Ireland as shown in radiocarbon-dated activity

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About