Abstract: Bringing together the latest work on the Mesolithic in Scotland and Northern England, this is a fundamental re-assessment of early prehistory from the key researchers in the area. Based firmly on archaeological evidence from recent excavations, this important book also includes work on the environmental background.

Abstract: The late Mesolithic sites of Teviec and Hoedic, located on what are now small islands off the Breton coast, provide evidence for elaborate burial practices, and may be precursors of the megalithic tradition of Brittany and western Europe in general. This paper briefly summarizes what is known of the sites and examines patterning in the distribution of grave inclusions. Differences as well as similarities between the sites are found. When examined carefully and critically, older excavation reports can yield much new information.

Abstract: The general image of the end of the Pleistocene (i.e., end of the Last Glacial) in Europe is one of brutal changes in climate, landscape, vegetation, fauna, and, consequently, in human strategies for survival in a new world that came into being around 10,000 years ago. The break between Magdalenian horse, reindeer, and bison hunters on the periglacial steppetundra and Mesolithic forest foragers and fishers is often generalized as being sharp and abrupt, and sometimes characterized as “degenerative” especially in the realm of artistic production.

Abstract: Calowanie site, which supported hunter-gatherer populations from ca. 11 380±95 until 8270±100 B.P., is the major terminal Palaeolithic and early Mesolithic occupation complex of the North European Plain. The archaeological layers are intercalated with biogenic sediments. The remains of plants that probably served as food were recovered from terminal Palaeolithic and early Mesolithic layers. Most of the charred plant remains, apart from wood charcoal, derives from vegetative parenchyma which forms a major part of organs such as root and tuber. Two taxa have been identified on the basis of the anatomy of parenchymatous tissue, namely Sagittaria cf. sagittifolia and Polygonum sp. In addition, several charred seeds and fruits were recovered. This is the first evidence for the probable use of plant foods, other than hazel nuts or water-chestnuts, in the diet of hunter-gatherers in the North European Plain during the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic.

Abstract: The paper discusses regional Mesolithic interactions in southern Norway. The earliest coastal sites have been dated to c. 10,500–10,000 BP, and all through the Mesolithic the dissected coastlines of Norway retained a position as prime areas for subsistence and settlement. An important point is that there was coast/inland interaction in certain areas already soon after deglaciation. A premise for this is that western groups seasonally moved through the intermediate zones into the mountains. Due to short distances and easy access between coast and mountains, Southwest Norway in particular holds potential insights concerning hunter‐gatherers’ use of different ecological zones in the course of a single year. However, lack of evidence in the intermediate zones, and the paucity of faunal remains and radiocarbon dates at the coastal sites, make it difficult to specify regional patterns of seasonality.

Abstract: The resource utilisation and diet of a number of coastal Stone Age populations in Estonia were analysed. The methods employed were radiocarbon accelerator dating, stable carbon isotope analysis, and faunal analysis. Nine radiocarbon dates have provided new information on the dating of four of the sites, and it is now possible to compare the Estonian Late Combed Ware Period with the Late Finnish Combed Ware Period. The Mesolithic sites in Estonia seem to have been dependent on terrestrial resources, although somewhat different, whereas a shift towards marine resources on the islands is seen during the Neolithic. We would hence, regard the Mesolithic and the Early Neolithic in Estonia as a viable alternative to the «traditional» Neolithic subsistence.

Abstract: ANTIQUITY's recent report on direct radiocarbon dates for human bone from Welsh caves had them concentrated in two distinct Postglacial periods. The larger pattern for Britain as a whole is also striking.

Abstract: This article evaluates a cross‐cultural archaeological model linking the rise of formal cemeteries among hunter‐gatherers to subsistence and settlement patterns, using the Mesolithic of the Ganges valley as a case study Faunal data, including ageable deer teeth, and grave orientation in relation to solar variation suggest that the sites of Mahadaha and Damdama were logistically organized and residentially stable The archaeological evidence thus supports the Saxe‐Goldstein formulation on the interrelationship between cemeteries and corporate group rights to crucial resources (aquatic resources in the Gangetic case) It is suggested that this economic appoach should be complemented by an understanding based on cultural beliefs of past societies

Abstract: Etude des conditions naturelles au Paleolithique superieur en Russie occidentale et caracteristiques des habitats et industries des cultures du Paleolithique superieur (Federmesser, Ahrensbourgien, Swiderien) et du Mesolithique ancien (cultures de Butovo, Ienevo, Resseta et Veretye)

Abstract: Abundant Neolithic finds have been made along the Lithuanian coast of the Baltic Sea in the outskirts of the Sventoji Settlement. Artefacts attributed to the Narva and Pamariu (Bay Coast) Neolithic cultures have been identified and singled out. There are numerous pollen and diatom data together with radiocarbon datings. However, there are no Mesolithic finds nor any from the first half of the Early Neolithic on the Lithuanian coast. Vegetation, climate, water level fluctuations, shoreline position during the Baltic Ice Lake, Yoldia, Ancylus, Litorina and Post-Litorina time are outlined on the basis of palaeobotanical and archaeological data. Especially favourable conditions for a settled way of life were produced after the maximal transgression of the Litorina Sea, when semi-closed bays were formed along the coast.

Abstract: Investigations of Stone Age settlements found in the lower reaches of the Narva river are summarized. A brief review is given of the finds, the data associated with them and the interdisciplinary way they have been investigated. Ten settlement sites (Lommi I - III, Riigikula I - IV, Narva Joaoru, Kudrukula and Vaikula) and two places with occassional finds (Siivertsi and Torvala) are discussed. The lower reaches of the Narva River forms an area which, since 1930, has been studied by virtually all Estonia archaeologists who are interested in the Stone Age. The material obtained to date is central to the reconstrution of the Estonian Stone Age and yet the surroundings of Narva have still not been investigated in sufficient detail.

Abstract: The existence, duration and amplitude of the Litorina 3 transgression during the Late Mesolithic and Early/Middle Neolithic in the Stockholm area is discussed here. The paper aims at evaluating the archaeological data in relation to shore displacement models. It is concluded that there are indications of influence from the Litorina Sea at one archaeological site from the Late Mesolithic and at several Middle Neolithic sites. It is only the material from the Late Mesolithic site that has been radiocarbon dated and proved to be the result of a long term process. The other indications are still to be evaluated against an improved absolute and relative chronology, but may be the result of smaller fluctuations during a regressive period.

Abstract: A combined grinding and axe-polishing stone found at a late Mesolithic site in eastern central Sweden, serves as the starting-point for a discussion of gender roles and the first appearance of agriculture in the region. Indications that small-scale agriculture was introduced as a part of the Mesolithic economy are discussed. It is proposed that the neolithisation visible in the appearance of the Funnel-beaker Culture (TRB) was more an ideological change than an economic one and that the spread of the TRB in Scandinavia should be seen as a process within the late Mesolithic society. Exogamous relations between different Mesolithic bands served as a medium for the spread of the knowledge of the new way of life.

Abstract: The Mesolithic hunting and fishing settlement site on the low Lammasmagi hill at Kunda has given its name to the Mesolithic Kunda Culture in north-east Europe. Formerly it was considered that the Mesolithic settlement existed on Lammasmagi before the drainage of the Kunda Lake and Lammasmagi was thought to be an island in the lake. Recent investigations, based on the detailed analyses of the soil structure and genesis in the surroundings of Lammasmagi, show that for the greater part of the Mesolithic Lammasmagi was seasonally inhabited after the lowering of the water level of the lake, which took place earlier than was formerly thought. The settlement site on Lammasmagi was probably most intensively used during the spring-flood time. A landscape, with seasonally fluctuating water level, was particularly favourable for fishing with rather primitive fishing tackle.

Abstract: This thesis examines the evidence for prehistoric human activity in a defined area of the East Midlands of England where the dominant substrata is clay. It aims to examine whether the traditional model for limited prehistoric occupation of areas of clayland is accurate in the light of recent fieldwork. Problems of visibility, interpretation and biases in the record for clayland areas which may have influenced this model are discussed. The area selected consists of 4200 sq km comprising over sixty per cent clay substrata covering areas of Leicestershire and Northamptonshire and adjacent counties. The research examines the evidence at four levels; regional, sub-regional, microregional and at the level of the core area. The regional analysis examines the distribu­ tion of prehistoric activity based on information from Sites and Monuments Records. To test the results of this analysis four area surveys at sub-regional and micro-regional level are then examined. Evidence at the level of the core area based on excavated settlements in clayland areas is also analysed. This analysis suggests that there is no pattern of avoidance of clayland areas during the prehistoric periods but that the evidence for pre-iron Age activity is uneven. Where systematic survey has been undertaken pre-iron Age activity is present in some clayland valleys, with lower levels of activity on the higher boulder clay plateaux areas, although by the Later Iron Age core area activity has spread into these locations. One boulder clay area examined in the Swift Valley, however, has lithic densities comparable with southern gravels and chalklands, the preferred locations for prehistoric settlement in the traditional model. The conclusion from this research is that clayland areas in the East Midlands were not actively avoided and other environmental and social factors may have had a greater influence on site selection than the substrata.

Abstract: The Slavs and archaeology in Russia geographical setting - geology and landforms, hydrology, climate, vegetation and soils, population and ethnic groups the initial settlement - palaeolithic beginnings, the last Ice Age, the mousterian, the upper palaeolothic, the late glacial, early languages postglacial farmers and hunters - the holocene, the mesolithic, early neolithic, middle neolithic the Beaker folks - the post-optimum, the corded ware, the steppe groups, the Bronze Age the age of change - the Iron Age, the northern hill-forts, the Cimmmerians, SCythians, Greeks and... the Slavs, Balts and Finns the Slavs in Europe - Pax Romana, the Zarybintsy and Chernyakhovian, the rise of the Slavs, the Slavs in the North the Varangians and the Rus - the Vikings in Europe, the Scandinavians and the Slavs, beginnings of Russian statehood.

Abstract: This thesis deals with questions on various applications using soils and sediments as sources of information in archaeological research Human environmental impact on soils and sediments, in terms of pollution, is a well known phenomenon as the industrialisation intensified during historical times and onwards and has left strong pollutive marks However, humans have always accumulated or emitted matter and various compounds in connection to their habitats for subsistence, but these earlier traces are not always detectable, depending on soil and sediment state of preservation Bioessential elements are intimately linked to humans and their dwellings and especially phosphate has been evident in this respect It was established already in the 1930s, that even Stone Age settlements could be located through elevated phosphate content in extensive soil phosphate mappings This thesis is a compilation on results from several sites and excavations from the southern to the northern parts of Sweden There is a wide variety of soil types and chronological setting in the material, from highly acid podzols to calcareous soils, and sediments dated to Younger Dryas to current top soils Sites from the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Early and Late Iron Age and Medieval are all represented Methods that have been implemented are firstly various forms of analysis in regards to soil phosphate, magnetic susceptibility and organic matter Furthermore, metal and non-metal elements have been considered, as well as lead isotopes A multiproxy approach is applied in some examples where biological and chemical data is combined to interpret past events In this thesis there are also five papers presented The first paper deals with methodological issues concerning multi-element analyses of various soil samples (off-site to feature) from an archaeological excavation The second paper is about the possibilities that may be used when analysing the soil organic phosphate in relation to prehistoric agriculture Paper three and fourth are compilations of large scale contract archaeological project These papers deal with theoretical, methodological and practical issues concerning environmental archaeology in relation to contract archaeology Studies on landscape development and erosion are among the cases presented The last paper deals with a late Mesolithic - early Neolithic settlement in Vuollerim, N Sweden, and spatial dimensions on the human use of settlement (off-site to on-site) and house floors (intra-site), are discussed