Abstract: Recent investigations of prefarming adaptations during the Mesolithic period in early Holocene Europe have led to significant revision of traditional views. A number of innovations and changes occur, particularly toward the end of the Mesolithic, that permit this time to be described as both dynamic and extraordinary. Permanent settlement and the use of domesticated animals, exchange, and, perhaps, cultivated plants and monumental tombs characterize a number of later Mesolithic adaptations. The transition to the Neolithic is now regarded as the result of in situ developments in most areas of Western Europe, as Mesolithic groups slowly adopted pottery, cultigens, and other characteristics of farming villagers. In this paper, questions regarding chronology, nomenclature, and the definition of terms are addressed initially. Changes in European environments at the close of the Pleistocene and during the early postglacial are considered in terms of major impacts on human adaptation. The central focus of this study is a survey of the Mesolithic in Ireland, Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain, and Italy. Recent research projects in these areas are discussed in terms of new approaches and results. An overview of developments in these countries is also presented, emphasizing the transitions from the Paleolithic and into the Neolithic. Concluding remarks address future directions in Mesolithic research.

Abstract: Excavations by the joint University of Khartoum/Southern Methodist University Butana Project in the area just north of Khashm el Girba on the upper Atbara River have uncovered a series of preceramic and early ceramic occupations by hunters and gatherers which date fromca 10,000 bp toca 6200 bp. The earlier sites show no direct relations with those of similar age in the northern Sudan, while the later, early ceramic sites show only minor similarities with contemporary occurrences in the central Nile Valley. Thus, it appears that the upper Atbara River Valley played no role in the development of the Khartoum Mesolithic and that Nilotic influences were late reaching the eastern Sudan.

Abstract: The excavation of Vaenget Nord has yielded clues to the rich foraging culture that flourished on the coasts of northern Europe during the Mesolithic. Decapage was used for the reconstruction of the spatial organization of the site. An explanation is given for the good condition and distribution of the finds in this type of environment. The various technologies for which there is evidence are discussed: the working of stone tools, woodworking, the working of bone tools, butchering, leather working. Occupation of the site is analyzed in the context of ecological factors. -- AATA

Abstract: The excavation of a mesolithic site at Cass ny Hawin, Isle of Man, is described. Later agriculture had destroyed all but a few features including a hollow, which was certainly artificial but probably not a residential structure. There was an extensive lithic industry, dominated by microliths. The distinctive nature of the Manx microlithic industry is discussed, as well as the subsistence economy and human colonization of the island.

Abstract: The principles of construction and use of Mesolithic hearth-pits are examined in the Groningen part of the Veenkolonien, a peat reclamation district where a uniform 'Mesolithic' landscape came to light when the peat beds were dug away. Put in a broader context, these Mesolithic hearth-pits seem to have been'designed' for food-processing mainly and used in specific areas within the settlements. They are tentatively compared with Late Palaeolithic hearths from adjacent areas, in an attempt to demonstrate that a new type of hearth emerged at the beginning of the Mesolithic. Post-glacial environmental adaptation may be reflected in these hearth-pits according to the 'form follows function' principle.

Abstract: This thesis is a study of the record of the monuments of the Firth of Clyde region in the Neolithic and early Bronze Age. Six type monuments which were the foci of ritual and/or burial practices during this period are considered: chambered cairns of the Neolithic, stone circles, standing stones, cup-marked rocks, early Bronze Age burial cairns and unmarked burial monuments. A difference from previous work is the historical perspective of the research. This marks a departure from traditional period based studies, while investigation at a regional level avoids the restrictions of more localised research. The monuments are placed as far as possible in the context of the social relations and routines of everyday life in which they played a part, and transformations which took place are identified in a synthesis of the monument record through time. A catalogue of sites is provided. This was compiled in a form suitable for computer analysis, and a package of computer programmes prepared with specific purposes in view. Quantitative analyses of the frequency of occurrence, spatial distribution and relationship to eight locational factors are carried out for each of the type monuments at the regional level and for sub-regions identified within the study area. The results are discussed in the light of a systematic study of the effects on the formation of the archaeological record of social and economic development in the area of study over the last two hundred years, and in relation to the findings from reviews which are undertaken of the evidence of Mesolithic activity, of settlement and cultural evidence and of environmental studies. Additional insights are gained from considering the architectural form of the monuments in relation to meaning and function. One aspect of the study thus concerns the observation of changes in the relationships between the living and the past, or between the living and the dead, from the spatial location and topographical positioning of monuments, while another concerns the ways in which these are reflected in the architectural form and function of the monuments. It is found that the spatial division of the region in the Neolithic indicates that the chambered cairns do not reflect the full extent of settlement and farming, and that their occurrence, as occasional foci in the landscape, is closely related to land use traditions established in the Mesolithic. With the transition to the Bronze Age a different spatial division is seen to emerge in which stone circles are located in a small number of particular locations, whereas the burial cairns and unmarked burials occur throughout the region, and appear to be much more closely related to areas of settlement than were chambered cairns. Standing stones are known in association with both ceremonial and burial monuments, and their distribution also suggests areas of settlement. Many aspects of cup-marked rocks remain enigmatic, but they seem to represent ritual activity of a different kind, which may have taken place mainly in areas marginal to the main foci of other activities. The island of Arran is found to have played a distinctive role within the region. This cautions against regarding Arran as a typical example of monumentality on the Atlantic seaboard of Europe. Traditions and practices were established in the Mesolithic which were seen to have contributed to this development. In addition it is likely that its physical prominence made it a natural reference point for the region, which through its central location was focal to maritime communications.

Abstract: The Flandrian vegetational and archaeological history of the Ingleborough Massif was investigated using pollen and macrofossil analysis of peat deposits in conjunction with radiocarbon dating. A transect was taken across the massif, running northwest to south-east, and peat deposits were sampled at intervals, as close to the transect as possible. This was to give a range of altitude and peat types, as well as sites both near to and far from limestone and known archaeological remains. Pollen influx (produced by means of an exotic marker grain method) and percentage pollen diagrams were produced for five peat profiles while percentage diagrams only were produced for a further six. The earliest peat formed in the Arks corrie c. 9240 t 100 BP and revealed an open countryside with some birch and juniper bushes. Corylus migrated into the area and formed a major component the vegetation near the Arks C. 8730 - 80 BP. After the arrival of Quercus and Ulmus trees, Alnus appeared in the area c. 80 BP but did not reach high numbers until 6400 ± 70 BP. Some evidence of possible early Mesolithic activity during this period was found. Small-scale and short-lived clearance of the mixed-oak woodland began c. 5700 BP, due to the activities of either Late Mesolithic or Early Neolithic peoples. A distinctive and long-term clearance phase (lasting c. 500-700 years) took place in the Early Neolithic Period, characterised by high percentages of Rumex acetosa/acetosella type pollen with smaller percentages of other ruderal pollen types and occasional cereal grains. The evidence points to both pastoral and arable farming being practised on the well-drained Carboniferous Limestone soils. After a short tree recovery, widespread clearance was renewed on the massif in the Early Bronze Age, with Plantago lanceolata and Pteridium the most abundant indicator grains. Extensive areas of the massif were covered by spreading blanket bog in this period. All peat profiles have been truncated, three end with the Late Bronze Age; the others continue until the Iron Age on end of the Romano-British Period, at which time the massif was almost cleared of woodland. Regrowth occurred at the beginning of the Norman Period, at least at one site. Severe erosion has taken place over the whole of the massif. There is evidence at the Arks site of a "bogburst" or "gill-brack" having taken place.

Abstract: The occurrence of mesolithic artefacts around Malham Tarn and Great Close Mire has been noted from the 1920s onwards. Pollen analysis at Tarn Moss to the west of Malham Tarn in the 1950s indicated that forest clearance had begun during Zone VI (c. 7000–5500 bc). Between 1972 and 1982, five prolific flint sites and a sixth, minor site were located in this area. The sites are of ‘Narrow Blade’ affinities and may have formed a summer base camp for hunter/gatherer groups operating in the Craven Pennines. Some artefacts of neolithic date have been found on the sites and this may indicate continuity. There is evidence for forest clearance and settlement in the later neolithic and this was well established by the Early Bronze Age.

Abstract: Summary Details are presented of 22 findspots in southern Arran which have produced pitchstone and flint materials. Although a microlithic component can be distinguished at 3 locations, most of the material is less diagnostic culturally. Radiocarbon dates are presented from two sites (in the late 7th and 6th millennia and in the 2nd millennium BC respectively), the distribution of locations is discussed and some finds are illustrated.

Abstract: The epipaleolithic (“mesolithic”) is a period in prehistory which lasted in our countries around from 9000 to 4000 before our era (uncalibrated conventional radiocarbon years) It was named “the last hunters“period”, that is that of the last ones who used to live on hunting (including fishing) only, without coming to produce: neither plant cultivating nor animal breeding It was also, fundamentally, the period of hunting with bows: the technique of the bow and arrows, through its considerable social consequences, determined the main characteristics of that period