Showing papers on "Mesolithic published in 2007"
1 Jan 2007
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a model for the Circum-Pontic Region from the late Pleistocene to the mid-Holocene, showing that sea-level changes modified the Quaternary coastlines in the Marmara region.
Abstract: Preface Introduction Victor R. Baker List of contributors. General 1. Oxic, suboxic, and anoxic conditions in the Black Sea James W. Murray, Keith Stewart, Steven Kassakian, Marta Krynytzky, and Doug DiJulio 2. Molluscan paleoecology in the reconstruction of coastal changes Daniela Basso and Cesare Corselli 3. Climate modeling results for the Circum-Pontic Region from the late Pleistocene to the mid-Holocene Alexander V. Kislov and Pavel M. Toropov Principal Flood Scenarios 4. Status of the Black Sea flood hypothesis William B.F. Ryan 5. The Marmara Sea Gateway since ~16 ky BP: non-catastrophic causes of paleoceanographic events in the Black Sea at 8.4 and 7.15 ky BP Richard N. Hiscott, Ali E. Aksu, Peta J. Mudie, Michael A. Kaminski, Teofilo Abrajano, Dogan Yasar, and Andre Rochon 6. The late glacial great flood in the Ponto-Caspian basin Andrei L. Chepalyga 7. Controversy over Noah's Flood in the Black Sea: geological and foraminiferal evidence from the shelf Valentina V. Yanko-Hombach Research in the Northern Sector 8. On the post-glacial changes in the level of the Black Sea Pavel N. Kuprin and Valentin M. Sorokin 9. The post-glacial transgression of the Black Sea Valery I. Shmuratko 10. Climate dynamics, sea-level change, and shoreline migration in the Ukrainian sector of the Circum-Pontic Region Yuri Shuisky 11. The Middle Paleolithic and early Upper Paleolithic in the northern Black Sea region Viktor P. Chabai 12. Environment, sea-level changes, and human migrations in the northern Pontic area during late Pleistocene and Holocene times Pavel M. Dolukhanov and Konstantin K. Shilik 13. HoloceneMediterranization of the southern Crimean vegetation: paleoecological records, regional climate change, and possible non-climatic influences Carlos E. Cordova 14. Pontic-Caspian Mesolithic and Early Neolithic societies at the time of the Black Sea flood: a small audience and small effects David W. Anthony 15. Fluctuations in the level of the Black Sea and Mesolithic settlement of the northern Pontic area Vladimir N. Stanko Research in the Western Sector 16. The northwestern Black Sea: climatic and sea-level changes in the Late Quaternary Nicolae Panin and Irina Popescu 17. Sea-level fluctuations and coastline migration in the northwestern Black Sea area over the last 18 ky based on high-resolution lithological-genetic analysis of sediment architecture Evgeny G. Konikov 18 Water-level fluctuations in the Black Sea since the Last Glacial Maximum Gilles Lericolais, Irina Popescu, Francois Guichard, Speranta-Maria Popescu, and Laurence Manolakakis 19. Archaeological and paleontological evidence of climate dynamics, sea-level change, and coastline migration in the Bulgarian sector of the Circum-Pontic Region Mariana Filipova-Marinova 20. Dendrochronology of submerged Bulgarian sites Peter I. Kuniholm, Maryanne W. Newton, and Bernd Kromer 21. The Neolithization of the north Pontic area and the Balkans in the context of the Black Sea floods Valentin Dergachev and Pavel M. Dolukhanov 22. Holocene changes in the level of the Black Sea: consequences at a human scale Douglass W. Bailey Research in the Southern Sector 23. Morphotectonic development of the southern Black Sea region and the Bosphorus channel Yucel Yilmaz 24. Sea-level changes modified the Quaternary coastlines in the Marmara region,
329 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used radiocarbon dates to make inferences about the history of population fluctuations from the Mesolithic to the late Neolithic for three countries in central and northern Europe: Germany, Poland and Denmark.
276 citations
TL;DR: Yanko-Hombach et al. as mentioned in this paper found that the Late Neoeuxinian lake inundation was intense and substantial whereas the Early Holocene sea-level rise was not.
102 citations
TL;DR: Oxygen isotopes in shell carbonate samples from the marine rocky-shore intertidal gastropod Monodonta turbinata (Born) were investigated in both modern analogue specimens and in archaeological specimens from the Grotta dell’Uzzo (Sicily) as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Oxygen isotopes in shell carbonate samples from the marine rocky-shore intertidal gastropod Monodonta turbinata (Born) are investigated in both modern analogue specimens and in archaeological specimens from the Grotta dell’Uzzo (Sicily). Variations in shell edge values of δ18O in living specimens collected monthly over two years are closely correlated with monthly seawater temperatures measured at the time of collection, showing that the species can be used for palaeoseasonality studies. Analyses of shell edge δ18O values in archaeological specimens, from Mesolithic through to early Neolithic phases at the Grotta dell’Uzzo, enabled the inference of various seasons of collection of shellfish and how such seasonality varies between the different phases of occupation. Interesting similarities and differences exist between the seasons of marine shellfish exploitation and the seasons inferred from the vertebrate zooarchaeological assemblages. A major inference drawn from the analyses and discussion is that the exploitation of all marine resources (fish and shellfish) increased in the later Mesolithic and early Neolithic periods.
100 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the human diet using the carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures of 93 Mesolithic and Neolithic specimens (w10,000e 2000 BC) from the Meuse Basin (Belgium).
96 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the Late Glacial and Holocene development of vegetation in the vicinity of the Wigry Lake is reconstructed using pollen analysis using the Allerod and Younger Dryas chronozones.
Abstract: The Late Glacial and Holocene development of vegetation in the vicinity of the Wigry Lake is reconstructed using pollen analysis. The Late Glacial sediments include the Allerod and Younger Dryas chronozones. The Holocene section is complete. Pollen data combined with archaeological evidence and radiocarbon dating permit the recognition and characterisation of human influence on the local plant cover caused by settlers of Mesolithic and Neolithic cultures, by west Balts, by Grand Dukes of Lithuania and by Cameldolites order. On the basis of pollen analysis the development of aquatic and mire vegetation in the Wigry Lake is described.
74 citations
Book•
31 Dec 2007
TL;DR: Prehistoric Coastal Communities as mentioned in this paper addresses a set of focused research questions through original fieldwork in a setting that has not been over-explored, with sampling in the field and post-excavation analysis undertaken by teams of specialists, brought together in clear overviews that contextualise the information in broader geographical and theoretical frameworks.
Abstract: Review here Prehistoric Coastal Communities offers an outstanding example of modern archaeology at its very best: this monograph addresses a set of focused research questions through original fieldwork in a setting that has not been over-explored, with sampling in the field and post-excavation analysis undertaken by teams of specialists, brought together in clear overviews that contextualise the information in broader geographical and theoretical frameworks. As such, Martin Bell and his team of 42 collaborators, all mentioned on the title page, should be congratulated.
68 citations
1 Jan 2007
TL;DR: In this paper, Mazurie et al. present a very rich and polymorphic information in order to set it against what is already known of the neolithisation of WesternEurope.
Abstract: . 1985; Mazurie2003; Whittle 1977; 1996). This may be partly due, on the one hand, to thelate survival of regional Mesolithic societies that probably interacted in someplaces with incoming farmers, taking on the new way of life and possibly con-tributing to its dissemination, and on the other to the reunion of the twomain neolithisation streams—continental and Mediterranean—in the samearea or at least in adjoining territories. The use of new techniques, includingancient DNA (aDNA) and stable isotopes, has shed some light on key aspectsof those events at a large scale, such as the appearance of domesticates inEurope and the way it affected human diets. Recent complementaryapproaches at more local scales have helped to refine general observations onthe transformations of man/animal relationships between Mesolithic andNeolithic periods, from biogeographic, zootechnical and symbolic angles.This paper aims at gathering this very rich and polymorphic information inorder to set it against what is already known of the neolithisation of WesternEurope.
61 citations
TL;DR: A recent dating program on animal bone samples from Lepenski Vir, along with faunal and various archaeometric analyses, allows as discussed by the authors to suggest a new stratigraphic and chronological sequence for the Mesolithic-Neolithic site of the north-central Balkans.
Abstract: A recent dating program on animal bone samples from Lepenski Vir, along with faunal and various archaeometric analyses, allows us to suggest a new stratigraphic and chronological sequence for the Mesolithic-Neolithic site of Lepenski Vir in the north-central Balkans. In this paper, we particularly focus on the question of the introduction of domesticates to this site. By directly dating bones of domestic animals from the preserved faunal assemblage of Lepenski Vir, we show when the full ‘Neolithic package’ reached the site and interpret the character of this transformation.
53 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the discovery of five Mesolithic hazel fish traps some 6.3m below mean sea level in the River Liffey in Ireland has been investigated in advance of new construction, and they imply a well organized community that knew how to catch fish using the tide, to make wattle-work and baskets and who undertook coppicing on an eight year cycle in about 6100-5700 cal BC.
Abstract: An opportunity to investigate in advance of new construction led to the discovery of five Mesolithic hazel fish traps some 6.3m below mean sea level in the River Liffey. Closely paralleled on the continent of Europe they imply a well organised community that knew how to catch fish using the tide, to make wattle-work and baskets and who undertook coppicing on an eight year cycle in about 6100-5700 cal BC. The likelihood of more Mesolithic remains under European towns that have remained attractive to fishers and settlers has considerable implications for Cultural Resource Management. Do we always know how to find and access such delicate and important traces?
53 citations
1 Jan 2007
1 Jan 2007
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the different stages of research that lead to the understanding of prehistoric settlement in the Upper Rhone Valley, from the Early Mesolithic to historical times, from 1985-1987: theoretical model and early fieldwork; 1992-1997: further excavations on reference sites; 1998-2005: new field surveys and new data.
Abstract: SUMMARY - Prehistoric settlement in middle and high altitudes in the Upper Rhone Valley (Valais-Vaud, Switzerland): A summary of twenty years of research - This paper presents the different stages of research that lead to the understanding of prehistoric settlement in the Upper Rhone Valley, from the Early Mesolithic to historical times. It summarizes twenty years of research in the regions of Valais and Chablais (Switzerland): 1985-1987: theoretical model and early fieldwork; 1992-1997: further excavations on reference sites; 1998-2005: new field surveys and new data . First, we present the details of the fieldwork carried out and, in particular, the problems encountered in middle and high altitudes (survey techniques, reliability of the data). After 20 years, a more refined model has been developed with the only weak point being the lack of understanding of settlements in the middle altitudes. After the end of the last Ice Age, Epipalaeolithic and Mesolithic hunters colonised the Rhone Valley by two different routes: over the high mountain passes in eastern Valais (connecting northern Italy) and by the Lower Rhone Valley in the west (connecting Lake Geneva). Early Neolithic culture spread to Valais over mountain passes linking the Alps with the Po Valley, possibly by grazing small herds in high pastures in summer. The Bronze Age reveals a strong demographic development indirectly linked to the exploitation of copper deposits. Later, the mountain passes played an increasingly important role. In particular, during the Iron Age, the relations between the Etruscan and Celtic societies influenced the organi sation of alpine communities. Subsequently, connections to the south became more established and developed with Cisalpine Gaul, until Valais was integrated into the Roman Empire. The evolution of the economic management of the vegetational belts led to the establishment, at least in certain regions, of permanent settlements in the mountain belt during the Iron Age.
22 Nov 2007
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the results of a pilot study investigating the potential for geochemically sourcing black chert, a material with similar qualities to flint but of inland limestone origin, using ICP AES, ICP-MS and LA-ICP-MS.
TL;DR: The recent discovery of one of the earliest Mesolithic occupation sites in northern Britain, at Howick on the Northumberland coast, in association with multi-period archaeological evidence nearby, highlights the importance of UK coastal settings as focii of human occupation through the Holocene as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The recent discovery of one of the earliest Mesolithic occupation sites in northern Britain, at Howick on the Northumberland coast, in association with multiperiod archaeological evidence nearby, highlights the importance of UK coastal settings as focii of human occupation through the Holocene. Environmental evidence from a nearby river valley (8.15 m of sediment ranging in age from about 12 000 cal. BP to the present) records local and regional environmental change. Twenty-four radiocarbon dates based on plant macrofossils provide a strong chronological framework. Calcareous microfossil assemblages (foraminifera, ostracods) have been recovered from the fine-grained sediments, recording a change from marine through to brackish and eventually freshwater conditions between about 8200 and 6500 cal. BP. A preliminary pollen study of the core has permitted a reconstruction of the regional vegetation as it responded to climatic amelioration and human influence upon the landscape. Radiocarbon dating and sedimentological evidence indicates a major hiatus between approximately 11 000 and 8000 years BP (including the period of Mesolithic occupation), represented by a 30 cm layer of coarse sands and sandstone pebbles, probably the result of a significant high-energy event dated to about 8300 cal. BP. Although not a typical tsunami deposit, the age and context suggests that this may be associated with the Storegga Slide event, already well-documented along the eastern coast of Scotland. The sedimentary and biological remains at Howick record environmental change over much of the Holocene and are compared with other environmental change records from the region to provide an environmental framework for the archaeology of this coastline.
TL;DR: In this article, a detailed palaeogeographical analysis of the environmental context of late Mesolithic shell midden sites in the lower Tagus area is presented, focusing on the lower Muge valley, which contains an internationally significant Mesolithic record.
Abstract: This paper reports the first detailed palaeogeographical analysis of the environmental context of late Mesolithic shell midden sites in the lower Tagus area and focuses on the lower Muge valley, which contains an internationally significant Mesolithic record. The lower Muge valley fill comprises buried estuarine and fluvial environments contemporary with Mesolithic settlement. Holocene environmental and palaeogeographic changes influenced Mesolithic settlement-subsistence and midden accumulation. The sudden appearance of large late Mesolithic shell middens throughout Portugal represents a process of increased visibility and preferential preservation of the archaeological record. Prior to ~6100 cal. BC, aggrading valley floor environments did not occupy the entire width of the present lower Tagus floodplain and any sites located in the early Holocene valley are currently deeply buried. Shell midden occupation on terrace levels followed the establishment of aggrading estuarine environments, containing produ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors deal with the chronological hiatus in the Neolithic sequence of the southern part of the Low Countries and show that the transition process to have been more than a simple and unidirectional "Neolithisation".
Abstract: This paper deals with the chronological hiatus in the Neolithic sequence of the southern part of the Low Countries. It can at present only be bridged indirectly, by a detailed analysis of the situation prior to and after the gap. The focus in this paper is on the nature of the Neolithic and its relationship with possible native non-Neolithic populations. The results of this analysis show the transition process to have been more than a simple and unidirectional ‘Neolithisation’.
Book Chapter•
1 Jan 2007
TL;DR: In this article, a volume representing collaborative research between the Swedish universities of Kalmar and Stockholm and the University of Sheffield in the UK is presented, focusing on the investigation of cultural diversity in the 3rd millennium BC in the British Isles and Scandinavia.
Abstract: A volume representing collaborative research between the Swedish universities of Kalmar and Stockholm and the University of Sheffield in the UK. The themes centred on the investigation of cultural diversity in the 3rd millennium BC in the British Isles and Scandinavia, not so much to divine any prehistoric cultural links between the two in that period but to compare and contrast empirical evidence and theoretical approaches. The papers presented in this work cover aspects under the headings of ‘The Middle Neolithic in Sweden’, ‘The Beaker People Project’, and ‘The Stonehenge Riverside Project’. Contents: Preface (Mike Parker Pearson and Mats Larsson) Part 1 - Material culture diversity in the Baltic: 1) Walking on the wild side: on cultural diversity and the Pitted Ware Culture along the Swedish east coast during the Middle Neolithic (Kerstin Liden and Gunilla Eriksson); 2) Regional development or external influences? The Battle Axe period in south-western Scandinavia (Lars Larsson); 3) The guardians and protectors of mind: ritual structures in the Middle Neolithic of southern Sweden (Mats Larsson); 4) Shaping an identity: potters and pottery of the Pitted Ware Culture (Ludvig Papmehl-Dufay); 5) Why use different raw materials? Raw material use during the Late Mesolithic to Middle Neolithic along the coast of Kalmarsund (Kenneth Alexandersson). Part 2 – British Beaker burials and the Beaker People Project: 6) Isotopic aliens: Beaker movement and cultural transmissions (Stuart Needham); 7) A Beaker veneer? Some evidence from the burial record (Alex Gibson); 8) Foragers, farmers or foreigners? An assessment of dietary strontium isotope variation in Middle Neolithic and Early Bronze Age East Yorkshire (Janet Montgomery, Rachel Cooper and Jane Evans); 9) The Beaker People Project: progress and prospects for the carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotopic analysis of collagen (Mandy Jay and Michael Richards); 10) Microwear studies of diet in Early Bronze Age burials from Scotland (Patrick Mahoney); 11) Scottish Beaker dates: the good, the bad and the ugly (Alison Sheridan). Part 3 – Stonehenge and the Stonehenge Riverside Project: 12) The Stonehenge Riverside Project: excavations at the east entrance of Durrington Walls (Mike Parker Pearson); 13) The internal features at Durrington Walls: investigations in the Southern Circle and Western Enclosures 2005-2006 (Julian Thomas); 140 A return to Woodhenge: the results and implications of the 2006 excavations (Joshua Pollard and David Robinson); 15) Units of measurement in Late Neolithic southern Britain (Andrew Chamberlain and Mike Parker Pearson); 16) Stonehenge - Olenok, Siberia: universals or different phenomena? Ethnoarchaeological observations of a midsummer rite (Ole Gron and Maria Magdalena Kosko); 17) Stonehenge – its landscape and architecture: a re-analysis (Christopher Tilley, Colin Richards, Wayne Bennett and David Field); 18) Neolithic phallacies: a discussion of some southern British artefacts (Anne Teather). Part 4 – Research on other Neolithic World Heritage Sites in Britain and Ireland: 19) The lithic landscape of the Newgrange environs: an introduction (Conor Brady); 20) ‘The Heart of Neolithic Orkney’ World Heritage Site: building a landscape (Nick Card, Jonathan Cluett, Jane Downes, John Gater and Susan Ovenden).
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed historical, technological, settlement, economic, and social data referring to foragers of East Central Europe and demonstrated that the quantitative decrease and changes of their archaeological attributes in the fifth, fourth, and third millennia were not connected with a profound reorientation of their spatial and ideological existence.
Abstract: According to traditional views, the main reason for ‘demesolithisation’ in East Central Europe was the spread of the Neolithic oecumene, particularly from c. 4000 BC. Simultaneously, the disintegrated Late Mesolithic world gradually underwent typological unification, and finally reached the stage that is sometimes described as pre-Neolithic. However, we definitely have to bear in mind that as a matter of fact we deal only with the ‘history’ of archaeological artefacts that are treated as typical attributes of hunter-gatherers. The analyses of chronological, technological, settlement, economic, and social data referring to foragers of East Central Europe demonstrate that the quantitative decrease and changes of their archaeological attributes in the fifth, fourth, and third millennia were not connected with a profound reorientation of their spatial and ideological existence. It was rather a continuation of previous patterns, even though territories settled by farming societies were steadily growing in size. The final disappearance of Central European hunter-gatherers – but only in a strictly typological dimension – took place in the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age.
Book•
8 Mar 2007
TL;DR: Andrew David's field survey and excavation, including the results of excavations at the Nab Head and Daylight Rock in Pembrokeshire as mentioned in this paper, integrates these results with existing data to re-evaluate the chronology of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic settlement in Wales identifying phases of cultural transition.
Abstract: This study presents Andrew David's field survey and excavation, including the results of excavations at the Nab Head and Daylight Rock in Pembrokeshire. It integrates these results with existing data to reappraise the chronology of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic settlement in Wales identifying phases of cultural transition.
TL;DR: The evidence for these old rituals is more dense in central or western Europe than in south east Europe, whence most of the new Neo- lithic ideas came as mentioned in this paper, and people wearing these very traditional, old adornments are generally equipped with precious "new" things such as Spondylus, ceramics, adzes etc, and therefore show them as high status people in early Neolithic society.
Abstract: Some burial rituals such as cremation or the use of colorants, especially ochre, have old roots in the preceding Mesolithic and even in the Palaeolithic. The evidence for these old rituals is more dense in central or western Europe than in south east Europe, whence most of the new Neo- lithic ideas came. Among the personal adornments a small amount of snail-shell ornaments, stag tusks, tusks of wild boar and pendants made from antler are of special interest. People wearing these very traditional, old adornments are generally equipped with precious ‘new’ things such as Spondylus, ceramics, adzes etc, and therefore show them as high status people in early Neolithic society.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors presented 31 new AMS radiocarbon dates from the Mesolithic Iron Gates sites, which allowed for a total reconsideration of the chronological sequences, and offer new insights for a reinterpretation of both Upper Paleolithic-Mesolithic and Mesolithic-Neolithic developments in the region.
Abstract: In this paper we present 31 new AMS radiocarbon dates from the Mesolithic Iron Gates sites. The new dates allowed for a total reconsideration of the chronological sequences, and offer new insights for a reinterpretation of both Upper Paleolithic-Mesolithic and Mesolithic-Neolithic developments in the region.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the complexity and the plurality of the Neolithic process in the Aegean area (including the Balkans) and suggest that various manifestations of environmental changes were at the base of the complex mosaic character of Neolithization process in Greece, and in the Balkans.
TL;DR: In this article, a 590cm sediment sequence from Lake Plaani was studied by pollen, loss-on-ignition and radiocarbon dating in order to reconstruct the vegetation and land-use history in the mosaic upland landscape of southern Estonia.