Slighting the sea The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in northwest Europe

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Dating Women and Becoming Farmers: New Palaeodietary and AMS Dating Evidence from the Breton Mesolithic Cemeteries of Téviec and Hoëdic

This paper presents and discusses the results of a palaeodietary and AMS dating study of burials from the Mesolithic sites of Téviec and Hoëdic, Brittany, France. In common with other Mesolithic coastal populations in Europe, isotopic analysis demonstrates the significant use of marine resources by the sites' inhabitants. Greater interest, however, is provided by the inter- and intrasite details of the analysis. There is an unexpected difference between the two sites, with the inhabitants of Hoëdic deriving 70 to 80% of their protein from the sea, while the inhabitants of Téviec appear to show a more balanced use of marine and terrestrial protein. At the intrasite level, women, and particularly young women, were found to exhibit less use of marine foods. It is suggested that this could indicate an exogamous, patrilocal marriage pattern, with some women marrying in from more inland communities. The AMS dating program shows that the sites were roughly contemporaneous but were used for burial over a longer period of time than originally anticipated. Two cases could suggest the reuse of graves after the passage of centuries, a practice more typically associated with Neolithic passage graves. Unresolved issues remain surrounding the calibration of the dates, complicated by the inclusion of marine protein in the diet, but even before correction for this effect a number of dates overlap with the earliest Neolithic of the region. This raises a number of possible scenarios for the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Brittany

Dogs, Ducks, Deer and Diet: New Stable Isotope Evidence on Early Mesolithic Dogs from the Vale of Pickering, North-east England

We present new carbon and nitrogen isotope values for two domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) and an aquatic bird (Grus grus) from the Mesolithic sites of Star and Seamer Carr, Yorkshire, England. Previous measurements of the carbon isotopes of the Seamer Carr dog were undertaken by Clutton-Brock & Noe-Nygaard (1990). They interpreted the δ13C values as indicating a partly marine diet, and suggested that this was evidence for a seasonal movement of people and their domestic dogs between the coast and the inland Seamer Carr site. Day (1996) questioned this interpretation, arguing that the dog's δ13C values resulted from the consumption of aquatic foods from the ancient lake in the Vale of Pickering, thereby undermining any suggestion of seasonal movements to the coast. Day's argument is based on the assumption that the freshwater lake near Seamer/Star Carr contained δ13C-enriched dissolved CO2 from limestone, resulting in plants and aquatic birds with values mimicking those of a marine system. Here, we re-measure the carbon values of the Seamer Carr dog and provide new data for a dog and an aquatic bird from Star Carr. These new carbon and nitrogen isotope values indicate that the Seamer Carr dog did indeed consume significant amounts of marine protein, while the Star Carr dog did not. The aquatic bird did not have enriched δ13C values as Day predicted, and therefore we found no evidence to support Day's assumptions. Our new data supports the position that there could have been seasonal movements between the coast and inland during the Early Mesolithic at the site of Seamer Carr

Fire and Bone: An Experimental Study of Cremation

Many bone fragments have been burned in controlled laboratory conditions but few have been burned on outdoor pyres. In order to study and understand cremated bone, it is crucial to conduct experiments in real environmental conditions. In this study several cremations were carried out outdoors using ‘old’ fuels. Different animal bones and fleshed joints were burned, including lamb, pig, cow, chicken and fish. Experiments show that very high temperatures (above 900ºC) can be achieved in outdoor conditions but that it is difficult to reach full calcination of bone on small pyres: some parts are white (calcined) while others remain black (charred). Results indicate that, as expected, bone structure changes drastically after cremation, and, more importantly, that bone exchanges large amounts of carbon with its surrounding environment: after burning with manufactured coal, a modern lamb bone was radiocarbon dated to an age of 4,000 years

Finding the coastal Mesolithic in Southwest Britain: AMS dates and stable isotope results on human remains from Caldey Island, South Wales

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

Sharp shift in diet at onset of Neolithic

The introduction of domesticated plants and animals into Britain during the Neolithic cultural period between 5,200 and 4,500 years ago is viewed either as a rapid event1 or as a gradual process that lasted for more than a millennium2. Here we measure stable carbon isotopes present in bone to investigate the dietary habits of Britons over the Neolithic period and the preceding 3,800 years (the Mesolithic period). We find that there was a rapid and complete change from a marine- to a terrestrial-based diet among both coastal and inland dwellers at the onset of the Neolithic period, which coincided with the first appearance of domesticates. As well as arguing against a slow, gradual adoption of agriculture and animal husbandry by Mesolithic societies, our results indicate that the attraction of the new farming lifestyle must have been strong enough to persuade even coastal dwellers to abandon their successful fishing practices

Bronze Age deposition and Iron Age decapitation at the Sculptor's Cave, Covesea

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A Mid-Upper Palaeolithic human humerus from Eel Point, South Wales, UK

We report here on a human humerus directly dated to 24,470 ± 110 BP, placing it within the Gravettian, or Mid-Upper Palaeolithic. The partial humerus is an isolated find and can be attributed (with some caution) to the Pleistocene ‘bone cave’ of Eel Point on Caldey Island, Wales (UK). The humerus is probably male, similar in robusticity to other Gravettian right humeri. The apparent absence of stone tools and presence of hyaena bone and coprolites suggest that the element may not derive from an intentional burial. After a maxilla from Kent's Cavern and the Gravettian Paviland 1, Eel Point represents the third oldest anatomically modern human known from Britain. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope measurements do not support certain use of marine foods but highlight the need for more research on contemporary faunal remains in order to better interpret human values from this period