Abstract: Farming can be shown to have spread very rapidly across the British Isles and southern Scandinavia around 6000 years ago, following a long period of stasis when the agricultural 'frontier' lay further south on the North European Plain between northern France and northern Poland. The reasons for the delay in the adoption of agriculture on the north-west fringe of Europe have been debated by archaeologists for decades. Here, we present fresh evidence that this renewed phase of agricultural expansion was triggered by a significant change in climate. This finding may also have implications for understanding the timing of the expansion of farming into some upland areas of southern and mid-latitude Europe. Changement climatique et adoption de l'agriculture dans le nord-ouest de l'Europe On peut demontrer que, il y a 6000 ans, l'agriculture s'est repandue tres rapidement dans les iles Britanniques et dans la Scandinavie meridionale. Cette expansion survenait apres une longue periode de stagnation ou la "...

Abstract: The implications of new evidence are presented for the generally high level of marine diet in the coastal Mesolithic populations of Wales Within these generally high levels, some variations may point to seasonal movement These data provide a strong contrast with the mainland terrestrial diet of early Neolithic populations in the same area

Abstract: A conspicuous gap in the radiocarbon record of the Iron Gates Mesolithic suggests that many riverbank sites were abandoned between c 8250 and 7900 cal BP.1 This period of site abandonment is linked to increased flooding along the Danube, which can be correlated with a distinct global climatic oscillation. The implications of these environmental changes for the interpretation of Lepenski Vir and the timing of the Meso–Neolithic transition in the northern Balkans are examined. There is growing evidence of climatic instability during the Holocene and its effects on river systems. We suggest that climate-related flooding had a significant impact on human settlement and use of riverine environments in southeast Europe during the middle Holocene, and may even have been an important stimulus of culture change.

Abstract: This paper employs new evidence—including new AMS dates—to support a reinterpretation of the stratigraphic and architectural phasing of Lepenski Vir, and links this new evidence with the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in the region by critiquing dominant models.

Abstract: The site of Doel lies beside the Schelde, close to Antwerp. Excavations have uncovered the remains of two prehistoric zones, one from the Final Mesolithic and one from the Neolithic. Preliminary study suggests that current theories of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in northern Belgium require revision.

Abstract: Models of the Mesolithic—Neolithic transition in Britain in recent years have tended to downplay the role of changes in the subsistence economy, emphasizing a very gradual adoption of new domesticated resources. This view has been particularly pervasive for the west coast of Scotland, which in the context of Britain presents a relatively marginal environment for farming. In this article, we challenge this too-quickly emerging orthodoxy through the presentation and discussion of both new and previously published stable isotope data and AMS dates. The palaeodietary information, while limited, strongly suggests a very rapid and complete change in the subsistence economy coincident with the earliest manifestations of the Neolithic on the west coast of Scotland early in the fourth millennium cal. BC. Whatever explanation is invoked to account for the transition needs to engage with the isotopic data. The possibility of colonization at some level needs to be seriously reconsidered.

Abstract: The transition is considered in terms of four related questions: (i) HOW did the shift from foraging to farming happen? (ii) WHY did it happen? (iii) WHEN did it happen? (iv) WHY did it happen WHEN it did? The adoption of farming coincided with a shift to a more continental-type climate with lower winter precipitation, which improved the prospects for cereal cultivation. It is sug- gested that this was a key factor in the transition from Mesolithic to Neolithic across north-west Eu- rope as a whole.

Abstract: The Mesolithic occupation of Scotland began soon after the end of the last glaciation, between 10,000 and 9000 years ago. Considerable research has been undertaken in the past two decades (Mithen 2000; Pollard & Morrison 1996; Woodman 1989; Young 2000); much has been published, more is awaited, and work continues apace. Mesolithic sites occur throughout Scotland, though recent archaeological activity has been concentrated on the western seaboard. The coastal nature of much of the Scottish Mesolithic has long been recognized, although the contribution of inland sites is becoming more apparent. The relationship between shell middens and lithic scatters and the nature of the midden sites themselves are slowly becoming clearer (Bonsall 1996; Finlayson 1998), though the make-up of the material culture remains vague, as known early sites with preservation of organic materials are few and far between and specialists remain divided over their interpretation. More widely, it is generally recognized that the Mesolithic occurred during a time of dynamic environmental change although the impact on the human population remains to be documented. It was in this context that the Scotland's First Settlers (SFS) project was set up in 1998. SFS chose to concentrate on an area of known Mesolithic potential: the Inner Sound--a body of water between the Isle of Skye and the Scottish mainland. Previously recorded sites in the area include the midden at An Corran (Saville & Miket 1994) and lithic scatters at Redpoint (Gray 1960) and Sheildaig (Walker 1973) (FIGURE 1). Although Mesolithic work has long been biased towards coastal projects, the potential of the coastal zone was so great that it was decided to target the seascape for research, while focusing particularly on issues of local mobility, resource exploitation and early Holocene climate (Finlayson et al. 1999 & forthcoming; Hardy & Wickham-Jones 2000a; 2000b; 2001a; forthcoming a; forthcoming b).

Abstract: 7he classical Mesolithic she/! middens of Mi/ge wC/"c jirsr excavared i/l/he lI1id-nil1e!eel1lh cenfllry. Their mainfearures were already established by 1970, w/¡en fIle jirsf symhesis 011 ,he Early Neolithic of Portugal was fJllblished. The IIl/1llber uf sites has sigl/ificantly increased sil/ce ,hen. The Portuguese Early Neolirhic is 1/0 fonga cOl1sidered (II/ essentia/ly coasta! phenomenoll, l/lid ils fl/II definiríoll is II()W beco/ll¡/lg clearer. The same applies fa lhe Meso/ithic-Neolithic lral/sitial/. Recently obraillcd daTa froll1 severa! sifes indicare Ihe followillg /l/odels as ,he mosf convincing: rhe regíons il1 rlort/¡ern Portugal becall/c depopulafed afler ,he end of Upper Palaco/i/lI¡e; lhe jirsl farmen orrived ¡rolll Ihe Spal/üh Meseta by the earl)' S"millellJ/iuJII cal Be with (1 complete "Neolirhic package» i/lcllldil1g portery and polished stolle, alollg \\lit/¡ cereal agricuffure (¡nd ovicaprids; in cenlral POr/ugal Ihere is evidence for 500 years of coexislence of Ihe laSI hlllller-galherers exploiting Ihe eSluaril1e ellvirOlll1lents of rhe lower lagus. 011 /he one Ilalld, amllhe firs' farmers seuling in rhe limes/one lIIassifs of lhe EsrremadurG frOI1l lhe lI1id-6'" lIIilleJ/l1ium cal Be onwards. 011 rhe other. There is tlO archaeologically visible inferactiol1 hetweelllhe til'O during fhal ,ime; the picfure ü fess cleal' /11 SOllfh Portuf!,al: rhe gradualneolirhiwfiof/ of Mesotithic grollp~' in ,he Alenrejo pl'ovince is certain, alr/lOugh isslIes of chronolog)' are slill I/nda discllssioJ/; mi earl)' Neoli/hic selllemellr in r/¡e Algarve il1 rile secolld halJ of Ihe 6¡~ millel1l1iulII cal Be seems likely, blll fUr/hcr reseal'ch is I/eeded fO defille il lIIore accurare/y. Olle slwllld flote. hOlI'ever, rIJar rhe Portuguese evidel1ce is srill scarce. Al/y cllrrellll1lodelll/oy clu/IIge dras'ically as fhe avai/ah/e dara acclI/l/l/late.

Abstract: The origins of funerary monumentalism in north-west France remain inextricably linked to questions surrounding the Neolithic transition in that region. Debate continues over the relative importance of influences from earlier Neolithic communities in north-east or southern France on the Mesolithic communities of western France. An alternative interpretation places these influences within the context of broad processes of change affecting indigenous communities throughout northern and western France during the fifth millennium BC. The evidence from several regions of northern and western France is reviewed in this perspective, with emphasis on the regional character of monument traditions. Though at one level these regional narratives must have been interrelated, the regional diversity of the process must also be underlined. The argument moves us away from simplistic notions of extraneous influences to a more nuanced understanding of change within the context of individual communities at the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition.

Abstract: Recent results of radiocarbon analyses from sites in Ukraine suggest that a revision of the chronology of the Late mesolithic and early Neolithic is required. The subsequent Neolithic period up to the beginning of the Early Bronze Age (c.3000 cal BC) should be divided into two separate periods, the Neolithic and Neo-eneolithic.

Abstract: Generalised socio-economic models have in the past been applied wholesale to Neolithic monuments throughout Scotland without taking the country's diverse physical landscape and cultural histories into account. This paper explores whether regional variations in Neolithic monumentality can be paralleled with earlier Mesolithic disparities, and considers to what extent, with the introduction of agriculture, contemporary social systems and thus the ideology underlying monumental construction was affected by geographical factors.It is suggested that:• Contrasts during the Mesolithic between the Western seaboard and the Eastern lowlands/South-east Scotland continue throughout the Neolithic.• The different functions of monuments during the Early Neolithic are generally dictated by divergent topography in Eastern and Western Scotland.• By the later Neolithic social hierarchies emerged in regions suited to agricultural development.

Abstract: Pollen, microscopic charcoal and peat humification analyses were applied to radiocarbon-dated peat cores to examine environmental change before and after the mid-Holocene transition from hunter-gatherer (Mesolithic) to agricultural (Neolithic) communities in presently marginal upland pasture at Stanshiel Rig, Annandale, southern Scotland. The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in northern Britain is characterised by a number kf key environmental changes as well as economic shifts, including temporal patterns of fire and the Ulmus decline. Deliberate vegetation modification by Mesolithic communities is not demonstrable at Stanshiel Rig, and openings in the woodland canopy may have been promoted by grazing by wild animals or have been a consequence of climate change. Changes in fire frequency are also correlated with peat- and pollen-stratigraphic evidence for shifts to a drier climate in the late Mesolithic, probably mediated through pedological and biomass-storage change. A single Ulmus decline occurred between ca. 5650 and 5600 cal B. P., and is related here to climate change. Neolithic-age impacts on the woodland were limited, and no cereal-type pollen were found. The difference between hunter-gatherer and opportunistic farmer/hunter-gatherer at this locally is argued to be insignificant, or not detectable palynologically.

Abstract: A site beside the river Tjonger near Jardinga in the northern Netherlands is shown to be a rare Late Mesolithic kill and primary butchering site. Finds consist mainly of bones from aurochs and red deer, with a few flint artefacts. Radiocarbon evidence shows that there must have been two phases of use: the first around 5400 cal BC; the second, main phase around 5250–5050 cal BC.

Abstract: Mesolithic sites have been recovered from eroding moorlands in the Pennines for well over a century. However this volume presents the results of the first detailed high resolution excavations of a series of these sites in Marsden moor. 'Snapshots' of activities at these sites from the Early, Late and Latest Mesolithic are explained, and situated within what we know of environmental changes and social relationships in the period.

Abstract: The prehistoric occupation site at Chapelfield, Cowie, Stirlingshire had three phases of use, radiocarbon-dated to the Mesolithic, early Neolithic and middle Neolithic periods. The earliest phase was represented by three pits, which contained carbonized remains, dated to between the seventh and fifth millennium bc. The second phase of occupation was marked by a further group of pits with structured deposition of artefacts, including carinated bowls and pitchstone blades. This phase may also have seen the occupation of a series of small oval structures which post-date the phase one pits. The oval structures were constructed of stakes with no marked entrance and few internal features. The final phase of activity was marked by one pit (IV), which contained Beaker pottery and carbonized material which gave a radiocarbon date of 3050–2450 cal bc. This pit was accompanied by two circular structures with double walls constructed of stakes, central posts and east facing entrances.

Abstract: This paper reviews recent trends and developments in the study of the Mesolithic period in Scotland and places them in their historical context. The last decade has witnessed a flourishing of research activity, not just in terms of discovery and excavation, but also artefact studies, dating programmes, and other types of research. The contribution of development-led projects is challenging traditional interpretations that have relied heavily on the evidence from the maritime west. These and other major issues such as chronology, subsistence strategies and archaeological signatures are reviewed and some future research priorities are suggested.

Abstract: The rejection of the principles on which the so-called "prelevantine phase" is based and the discussion about the neolithic material culture parallels for levantine art allow its attribution to Epipaleolithic groups of hunters and gatherers. In the same way, the data on the process of transition between the Epipaleolithic and the Neolithic, and the relationship between the levantine style and the schematic rock painting seem to support a pre-neolithic chronology of the levantine art, related to non-producing ways of living.

Abstract: The paper presents the results of the archaeological investigation in the Mesolithic layers at Riparo Gaban, in the Conca of Trento, northem Italy. Riparo Gaban is a small rock-shelter multilayer site, presenting part of a local cultural sequence: Sauveterrian-Castelnovian-Early Neolithic. Similar sites are known from Romagnano III and Pradestel.

Abstract: About 20 Mesolithic peat-bog sites have been discovered during last ten years by the Upper Volga expedition in Central Russia, 14 of them were excavated in which many bird bones were found The present paper deals with avian remains from early Mesolithic layers The most ancient one is the lower layer of Stanovoye 4 dated to the Younger Dryas by pollen analysis and to between 10300 and 10000 BP (uncalibrated) by C14 The lower layer of Ivanovskoye 7 is dated to the second quarter of the Preboreal by pollen analysis and to 9650 BP by C14 and layer III of Stanovoye 4 is dated to the late Pre- boreal by pollen analysis and to 9200 BP by C14 Thirty four bird species have been iden- tified from these layers Remains of waterfowl are the most abundant in all layers while Capercaillie also played an important role Other avian species are represented by small numbers or by single bones The palaeoecological data and the role of birds in economy of the early Mesolithic population is discussed

Abstract: This chapter presents an overview of all imported artefacts of neolithic origin in the late mesolithic Ertebolle Culture in the western Baltic (Denmark, southern Sweden and northern Germany).

Abstract: The importance O/lIle Trieste K{mi{ (norrlt -eastem Iraly) and its re!arcd terrirories in rhe Neolithi zation process o/lile Adri(l/ic Basin is lIIai"ty due 10 Ihe lacr tha! Ihis is Ihe ollly area where traces 01 interrelatiol1ships betwecn rhe {ast fllllller-gatherers al/d fhe Jirst ¡armen have IIndollbtedfy beel/ deteNed. FUrlhermore ,/¡is is Ihe ollly regían where . arolllu/ rhe middlc 01 ¡he scvel1th miflCll lliulIJ BP, rhree d!f!erent aspects , tite Coste/no vian. rhe Impressed \Vare al/d fhe Dani!o al/e were active {HU/lO a cerlaiJl exren! mllglr/y conlemporal/eol/s. /n rhis papel; lite proh/cms 01 {he car/y afld //Iiddle Holqcene 01 rhe Trieste Kars! are cOflsidered in fhe broader I'iew 01 ¡he Mesolithic/Neoli¡hic lfOnsirion inlhe Adrialic . Along Ihe coaSlS o/ IlIis basin. lroces oj Late Mesolirhic seU/emenl are quite rareo Thi~' jau highly colltrasts with the evidellce prol'ided by {he firsl Neolithic. Impressed lVare villages somelimes very abllndanl especially in lhe Aplllia/l Penil/sula.

Abstract: The initial ideas for the ROB project Zuidelijk Flevoland conceived during the last year of fieldwork at the Hoge Vaart, 1996

Abstract: This document contains the introductory pages (pp. i-ix) of this monograph including: Contents, Figures, Tables, and Preface and acknowledgements.

Abstract: At the technocultural change from the Middle Paleolithic to the Upper Paleolithic, climatic conditions of South Asia were generally tropical and humid. But the development of blade-based culture evidenced arid and hot conditions. The paleoclimatic studies carried out in the Thar desert of western India indicate that short climatic cycles of dry and humid conditions prevailed in the peninsula during the Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene periods. Particularly at around 18,000 b.p., climatic conditions were marked by lower precipitation. This was the time when blade-based cultures flourished on a large scale, and in comparison to early Upper Paleolithic times, had a wider spread. Another noteworthy feature was that the sites of the earlier phase, the Middle Paleolithic, were many, in comparison to which the Upper Paleolithic localities were restricted. However, in the succeeding phase, around 18,000 b.p., the Upper Paleolithic mode of subsistence gained momentum. The following wet phase of around c. 10,000 b.p. gave impetus to the Mesolithic way of life, which in archaeological records is the transition stage between the Upper Paleolithic and the early Mesolithic.