Mesolithic projectile variability along the southern North Sea basin (NW Europe) : hunter-gatherer responses to repeated climate change at the beginning of the Holocene

This paper investigates how former hunter-gatherers living along the southern North Sea coast in NW Europe adapted to long-term and short-term climatic and environmental changes at the beginning of the Holocene. It is argued that contemporaneous hunter-gatherers repeatedly changed their hunting equipment in response to changing climate and environment, not just for functional reasons but mainly driven by socio-territorial considerations. Based on a Bayesian analysis of 122 critically selected radiocarbon dates a broad chronological correlation is demonstrated between rapid changes in the design and technology of stone projectiles and short but abrupt cooling events, occurring at 10.3, 9.3 and 8.2 ka cal BP. Combined with the rapid sea level rises and increased wildfires these climatic events probably impacted the lifeways of hunter-gatherers in such a way that they increasingly faced resource stress and competition, forcing them to invest in the symbolic defense of their social territories

The environmental setting for the Lateglacial recolonization of the Scheldt basin (North-west Europe) by the Federmesser Gruppen

In this paper the spatial distribution of Federmesser-Gruppen (FMG) sites in the Scheldt Basin is discussed. A clear pattern of focused occupation and exploitation of the dry banks of former dune slacks and freshwater lakes is observed, while the river floodplains were seemingly avoided. The latter may be due to the highly dynamic environment of the rivers, which were characterised by very high discharges and continuous erosion. During the late Allerød (GI-1a) and the transition towards the Younger Dryas (GS-1) the meandering rivers finally stabilised, gradually turning into slow running and shallow streams. This probably was the result of a general decrease of the ground water table, which also affected the inland lakes and ponds, reducing them to dry or swampy depressions. It is assumed that this marked hydrological event, which may be linked to cooling during the Intra Allerød Cold Period (GI-1b) and the subsequent Younger Dryas (GS-1), had a considerable impact on the settlement system of the FMG hunter-gatherers, who may have been forced to leave the Scheldt Basin

Potential of cone penetrating testing for mapping deeply buried palaeolandscapes in the context of archaeological surveys in polder areas

Geoarchaeological mapping of wetlands conventionally involves extensive coring. Especially in wetlands marked by a deep palaeosurface (>3 m deep) this can be very difficult and time-consuming. In this paper we therefore present an alternative approach based on Cone Penetration Testing (CPT) for structured, rapid and cost-effective evaluation of buried palaeolandscapes. Both estuarine and river floodplain environments were investigated, including the watereland transition zone (marsh). The efficiency, reliability and repeatability of the CPT method was tested through the comparison with ground-truth core data. The CPT data generally allowed highly accurate mapping of the palaeotopography of the prehistoric surfaces and the overlying peat sequences. Thin organic-rich clay intercalations within the peat layers could often still be identified. Additional pore pressure, conductivity and seismic velocity data (from CPTU, CPT-C and S-CPT) did not add much crucial information and their main use seems to lie in the added value for near surface geophysical measurements. The results of this research clearly illustrate the importance of CPT information for mapping of palaeolandscapes in archaeology

Reliability of AMS 14C dates of moss temper preserved in Neolithic pottery from the Scheldt river valley (Belgium)

Direct dates of pottery obtained from food crusts or other organic residues on the vessel surfaces can be affected by a reservoir effect and/or an old wood effect and therefore be unreliable. Hence, there is a need for alternative ways to directly date pottery. Moss is used as temper by several cultural groups of the late 6th to early 4th millennium cal BC in northwestern Europe. After the pottery is fired, charred moss remains are often preserved in the clay, so that relatively short-lived plant material with a direct chronological link to the pottery and human occupation is available for radiocarbon (C-14) dating. In this study, charred moss temper is extracted for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) C-14 dating from pottery of the Swifterbant Culture and Spiere group in the Scheldt river valley (Belgium). The moss dates are then compared to reference dates of organic macro-remains from the same sites and food crust dates with or without a reservoir effect of the same pottery. Eleven out of 13 moss dates are in line with the expected pottery age. The paired dates of moss temper and food crusts from the same potsherds confirm a freshwater reservoir effect (FRE) for the latter. We conclude that moss temper has great potential as a sample material for direct pottery dating. However, more research on the extraction and pretreatment of moss temper as well as on the reliability of moss dates is necessary in the future

Formalized reduction sequences from the site of Kerkhove, Belgium : new perspectives on early Mesolithic flint knapping

The refitting of eight Early Mesolithic artefact clusters yielded a detailed image of the flint knappingmethods applied at the site of Kerkhove (BE). Apart from apparent intra-site variability, the analysisrevealed a greater investment in core-shaping than is traditionally present in Early Mesolithicassemblages, combined with a clear preference for bladelet production organized fromalternatingly used, opposed striking platforms. Both elements, unprecedented to some extent inNorthwestern Europe, indicate continuity between Early Mesolithic technological traditions andthose of the preceding, Final-Palaeolithic period