Mesolithic Europe Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

In Europe, the Neolithic transition (8,000-4,000 B.C.) from hunting and gathering to agricultural communities was one of the most important demographic events since the initial peopling of Europe by anatomically modern humans in the Upper... more

In Europe, the Neolithic transition (8,000-4,000 B.C.) from hunting and gathering to agricultural communities was one of the most important demographic events since the initial peopling of Europe by anatomically modern humans in the Upper Paleolithic (40,000 B.C.). However, the nature and speed of this transition is a matter of continuing scientific debate in archaeology, anthropology, and human population genetics. To date, inferences about the genetic make up of past populations have mostly been drawn from studies of modern-day Eurasian populations, but increasingly ancient DNA studies offer a direct view of the genetic past. We genetically characterized a population of the earliest farming culture in Central Europe, the Linear Pottery Culture (LBK; 5,500-4,900 calibrated B.C.) and used comprehensive phylogeographic and population genetic analyses to locate its origins within the broader Eurasian region, and to trace potential dispersal routes into Europe. We cloned and sequenced the mitochondrial hypervariable segment I and designed two powerful SNP multiplex PCR systems to generate new mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal data from 21 individuals from a complete LBK graveyard at Derenburg Meerenstieg II in Germany. These results considerably extend the available genetic dataset for the LBK (n = 42) and permit the first detailed genetic analysis of the earliest Neolithic culture in Central Europe (5,500-4,900 calibrated B.C.). We characterized the Neolithic mitochondrial DNA sequence diversity and geographical affinities of the early farmers using a large database of extant Western Eurasian populations (n = 23,394) and a wide range of population genetic analyses including shared haplotype analyses, principal component analyses, multidimensional scaling, geographic mapping of genetic distances, and Bayesian Serial Simcoal analyses. The results reveal that the LBK population shared an affinity with the modern-day Near East and Anatolia, supporting a major genetic input from this area during the advent of farming in Europe. However, the LBK population also showed unique genetic features including a clearly distinct distribution of mitochondrial haplogroup frequencies, confirming that major demographic events continued to take place in Europe after the early Neolithic.

Following a thorough review of high-resolution environmental archives, this paper aims at discriminating the factors determining the heterogeneous repercussion of the Lateglacial Younger Dryas in Central Europe. When examining the... more

Following a thorough review of high-resolution environmental archives, this paper aims at discriminating the factors determining the heterogeneous repercussion of the Lateglacial Younger Dryas in Central Europe. When examining the archaeological implications of human adaptation to the subsequent changes in the natural environment two divergent biotic regions are of special interest: the North European Plain and adjacent areas; and the Alpine foothills and surrounding mountain ranges. In these regions, two different archaeological technocomplexes (traditions) are found: the Tanged Point Complex and the Curve-Backed Point Groups. Considering the distribution of the archaeological sites witnessing changes in the material culture and subsistence pattern, the intensity of the environmental changes caused by the Younger Dryas is a decisive element. Settlement discontinuity during the Younger Dryas is questioned. Moreover, the potential existence of established social networks between the two regions expressed by comparable developments such as microlithization is considered. Finally, the authors assess whether the Younger Dryas acted as an accelerator or a brake in the process of regional diversification prior to the Early Mesolithic.

Stone Age people handled their dead in various ways. From the Late Mesolithic period onwards, the deceased were also buried in formal cemeteries, and according to radiocarbon dates, the cemeteries were used for long periods and... more

Stone Age people handled their dead in various ways. From the Late Mesolithic period onwards, the deceased were also buried in formal cemeteries, and according to radiocarbon dates, the cemeteries were used for long periods and occasionally reused after a hiatus of several hundred years. The tradition of continuous burials indicates that the cemeteries were not only static containers of the dead but also important places for Stone Age communities, which were often established in potent places and marked by landscape features that might have had a strong association with death. The paper explores the tradition of burials in cemeteries exemplified through Jönsas Stone Age cemetery in southern Finland. Here the natural topography, along with memories of practices conducted at the site in the past, played a significant role in the Stone Age mortuary practices, also resulting in the ritual reuse of the cemetery by the Neolithic Corded Ware Culture.

Drawing upon the already well-known archaeological record and on recent data, we present a general overview of Mesolithic stone production in Central–Southern Italy and its main islands, Sicily and Sardinia. In the Early Mesolithic... more

Drawing upon the already well-known archaeological record and on recent data, we present a general overview of Mesolithic stone production in Central–Southern Italy and its main islands, Sicily and Sardinia. In the Early Mesolithic (10th–9th mill. uncal. BP ca.), the lithic industries of this wide area reveal the presence of different facies, each with its own peculiar techno-typological features; an articulate picture most likely originating from differentiations in lithic production already in existence at the end of the Epigravettian in both the central–southern regions of the peninsula and in Sicily. On the basis of the available chronological and stratigraphical record from several Mesolithic sites, these lithic facies at least appear to be partly contemporary. Two of them, a Sauveterrian-like aspect and the Undifferentiated Epipalaeolithic, spread more widely, involving both the peninsular region and the main islands. Regarding the Sauveterrian, both the variability and originality of the southern complexes seem to be in relation to the progressive distance from the northern areas. In Southern Apulia, we see the appearance of the Epiromanellian, coeval to the spread of Sauveterrian. In Sicily the situation is more intricate. During the Early Holocene an Epigravettian-tradition microlithic facies with unilateral backed tools and geometrics is attested on the island, spreading together with peculiar Sauveterrian-like industries and the Undifferentiated Epipalaeolithic. In Corsica–Sardinia, only the Undifferentiated facies is documented. The emergence of some industries with trapezes during the first half of 9th mill. cal. BP in Central–Southern Italy and Sicily and, later, in Tuscany attest the formation of Castelnovian-like aspects which closed the local Mesolithic cycle.

This article presents the results of traceological studies of ornaments observed on selected prehistoric osseous products from Poland and Lithuania. Included are unique artefacts from this region dated to the Late Palaeolithic, Mesolithic... more

This article presents the results of traceological studies of ornaments observed on selected prehistoric osseous products from Poland and Lithuania. Included are unique artefacts from this region dated to the Late Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic, or which are connected to Subneolithic communities. The article presents the results of analyses focused on interpreting the applied decorative techniques and tools employed in making the ornaments. In some cases, the use of metal tools, rare or unknown in a given area, is suggested, which presents a significant impact on the interpretation of the socio-cultural nature. An attempt is also made to identify the roles of symbolic features hidden in the way the ornaments were created or how they were treated afterwards. For the analysis of the artefacts, stereomicroscopes, SEM, computed tomography and optical coherence tomography (OCT) have been used.

The harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus), today a subarctic species with breeding populations in the White Sea, around the Jan Mayen Islands and Newfoundland, was a common pinniped species in the Baltic Sea during the mid-and late... more

The harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus), today a subarctic species with breeding populations in the White Sea, around the Jan Mayen Islands and Newfoundland, was a common pinniped species in the Baltic Sea during the mid-and late Holocene. It is puzzling how an ice dependent species could breed in the Baltic Sea during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM), and it remains unclear for how long harp seals bred in the Baltic Sea and when the population became extirpated. We combined radiocarbon dating of harp seal bones with zooarchaeological, palaeoenvironmental and stable isotope data to reconstruct the harp seal occurrence in the Baltic Sea. Our study revealed two phases of harp seal presence and verifies that the first colonization and establishment of a local breeding population occurred within the HTM. We suggest that periods with very warm summers but cold winters allowed harp seals to breed on the ice. Human pressure, salinity fluctuations with consequent changes in prey availability and competition for food resources, mainly cod, resulted in physiological stress that ultimately led to a population decline and local extirpation during the first phase. The population reappeared after a long hiatus. Final extinction of the Baltic Sea harp seal coincided with the Medieval Warm Period. Our data provide insights for the first time on the combined effects of past climatic and environmental change and human pressure on seal populations and can contribute with new knowledge on ongoing discussions concerning the impacts of such effects on current arctic seal populations.

RIecent research provides new perspectives on large-scale Early Holocene human interaction within Eurasia, based on ancient DNA or lithic technology. But the extent of regional human mobility is not well known. In this study, we combined... more

RIecent research provides new perspectives on large-scale Early Holocene human interaction within Eurasia, based on ancient DNA or lithic technology. But the extent of regional human mobility is not well known. In this study, we combined two different approaches to investigate regional mobility and social networks in southern Scandinavia. We analyzed strontium isotopes in human teeth and regional lithic raw material use and technology from a Mesolithic site, Norje Sunnansund in southern Sweden (7000 BCE). The lithic raw material composition at the site, and previous archaeological studies, indicated that the inhabitants mainly had utilized an area stretching 30 km southward. The isotopic analysis indicated that at least half of the analyzed individuals had a non-local origin, based on the local isotope signature, but that possibly only a few individuals originated outside the area defined by lithic acquisition. Those few isotopic values and the presence of lithic material as non-local flint and East Swedish microblade-cores in quartz, suggested that people also traveled far, but probably more sporadically. The combined analyzes revealed the complexity of late Boreal hunter-gatherers in South Scandinavia – although some groups appear to have had a limited geographical mobility, contact networks seem to have stretched over long distances.

This article describes evidence for contact and exchange among Mesolithic communities in Poland and Scandinavia, based on the interdisciplinary analysis of an ornamented bâ ton percé from Gołębiewo site 47 (Central Poland). Typological... more

This article describes evidence for contact and exchange among Mesolithic communities in Poland and Scandinavia, based on the interdisciplinary analysis of an ornamented bâ ton percé from Gołębiewo site 47 (Central Poland). Typological and chronological-cultural analyses show the artefact to be most likely produced in the North European Plain, during the Boreal period. Carbon-14 dating confirms the antiquity of the artefact. Ancient DNA analysis shows the artefact to be of Rangifer tarandus antler. Following this species designation, a dispersion analysis of Early-Holocene reindeer remains in Europe was conducted, showing this species to exist only in northern Scandinavia and northwestern Russia in this period. Therefore, the bâton from Gołębiewo constitutes the youngest reindeer remains in the Euro-pean Plain and southwestern Scandinavia known to date. An attempt was made to determine the biogeographic region from which the antler used to produce the artefact originates from. To this end, comprehensive δ 18 O, δ 13 C and δ 15 N isotope analyses were performed. North Karelia and South Lapland were determined as the most probable regions in terms of isotopic data, results which correspond to the known distribution range of Rangifer tarandus at this time. In light of these finds, the likelihood of contact between Scandinavia and Central Europe in Early Holocene is evaluated. The bâ ton percé from Gołębiewo is likely key evidence for long-distance exchange during the Boreal period.

‘Tilbury Man’ is the partial skeleton of an adult male found in 1883 during the construction of new docks at Tilbury, Essex, on the north shore of the Thames, approximately half way between London and the mouth of the estuary. At the time... more

‘Tilbury Man’ is the partial skeleton of an adult male found in 1883 during the construction of new docks at Tilbury, Essex, on the north shore of the Thames, approximately half way between London and the mouth of the estuary. At the time the find stirred considerable interest due to its depth of nearly 10 m, with the eminent biologist and palaeontologist Sir Richard Owen hailing it as being of Palaeolithic age, though most subsequent (and even contemporary) researchers assigned it to the early Holocene. AMS radiocarbon dating now places the skeleton in the Late Mesolithic, 6065–5912 cal BC. This paper presents the circumstances of the find, describes the surviving skeletal elements, including two healed cranial injuries, and places Tilbury in the context of what little is known regarding Late Mesolithic burial practices in Britain.

Peter J. Vincent, Tom C. Lord, Matt W. Telfer and Peter Wilson (2011); Early Holocene loessic colluviation in northwest England: new evidence for the 8.2 ka event in the terrestrial record?; Boreas Volume 40, Issue 1, January 2011, Pages:... more

Peter J. Vincent, Tom C. Lord, Matt W. Telfer and Peter Wilson (2011); Early Holocene loessic colluviation in northwest England: new evidence for the 8.2 ka event in the terrestrial record?; Boreas Volume 40, Issue 1, January 2011, Pages: 105-115. Twelve new samples of loessic silts from widely spaced locations on the karst uplands of northwest England have yielded Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dates that fall within or overlap with (within uncertainties) the early to mid-Holocene period (11.7–6.0 ka), and support three already-published Holocene ages from similar sediment from this region. Nine of the 15 dates are coincident with the hypothesized climatic deterioration at 8.5–8.0 ka in the North Atlantic region and eight are coincident with the 8.2 ka event. These dates demonstrate that the silts are not primary air-fall loesses of deglacial/Lateglacial age (c. 18.0–11.7 ka) but have been reworked and now consist of loess-derived colluvial deposits; we consider the ages to be reliable as there is no compelling evidence to indicate that the samples are partially bleached. There is no substantive archaeological or palynological evidence for Late Mesolithic hunter-gatherers having had a major impact on the landscape, and it is considered highly unlikely that these people triggered colluviation. We estimate that during the 8.2 ka event there was a reduction in mean annual air temperature at these upland locations of ∼2.6–4.6 °C, and proxy evidence from other sites indicates a shift to wetter conditions. It is inferred that there was greater snow accumulation in winter, that the snowpack survived for longer periods, and that there was an increase in the magnitude and frequency of frost-related processes and meltwater flooding. Together, these changes in climate and their associated (sub)surface processes were responsible for the reworking of the loess. The OSL dates indicate climatically induced landscape dynamism in Great Britain during the latter half of the ninth millennium.

In this paper, a systematic review of archaeobotanical data from Stone Age (c. 8900–1500 cal BC) sites in mainland Finland is presented for the first time and compared with ethnographical data. The data was collected from 76... more

In this paper, a systematic review of archaeobotanical data from Stone Age (c. 8900–1500 cal BC) sites in mainland Finland is presented for the first time and compared with ethnographical data. The data was collected from 76 archaeological sites and consists of charred and waterlogged remains from soil samples and charred hand-picked remains from archaeological excavations. The data shows that various wild plants were gathered in Finland during the Stone Age and that different opportunities for plant gathering prevailed in various parts of the country. Hazel and water chestnut were widespread and used in locales further to the north than where they grow today, but they were still confined to southern Finland. Some plants, such as bearberry and crowberry, were ubiquitous and collected throughout Finland. In the light of the data analysed, it is suggested that most of the charred plant remains derive from food processing (roasting, smoking, frying, cooking), waste management, and fuel use.

Recent excavations (2006–2009) at the Mesolithic-Neolithic site of Vlasac in the Danube Gorges region of the north-central Balkans have focused on a reevaluation of previous conclusions about site formation processes, stratigraphy,... more

Recent excavations (2006–2009) at the Mesolithic-Neolithic site of Vlasac in the Danube Gorges region of the north-central Balkans have focused on a reevaluation of previous conclusions about site formation processes, stratigraphy, chronology, and the nature of occupation. Mostly Late Mesolithic remains had been encountered in the preserved portion of the site, but, for the first time, in a restricted zone of the excavated area, vertical stratification of burial and occupation features yielded evidence about the use of the site in the period that is contemporaneous with Phase I–II at Lepenski Vir, the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition phase in this region, ca. 6200–5900 CAL B.C. Various strands of archaeological evidence show both continuities and discontinuities in Late Mesolithic forager life- and deathways at the start of the Neolithic in the central Balkans.

Franchthi Cave in southern Greece preserves one of the most remarkable records of socioeconomic change of the Late Pleistocene through early Holocene. Located on the southern end of the Argolid Peninsula, the area around the site was... more

Franchthi Cave in southern Greece preserves one of the most remarkable records of socioeconomic change of the Late Pleistocene through early Holocene. Located on the southern end of the Argolid Peninsula, the area around the site was greatly affected by climate variation and marine transgression. This study examines the complex interplay of site formation processes (material deposition rates), climate-driven landscape change, and human hunting systems during the Upper Paleolithic through Mesolithic at Franchthi Cave based on the H1B faunal series. Building on earlier work, we establish the full spectrum of the meat diet using taphonomic evidence, and we analyze these data for trends in socioeconomic reorganization. Foraging patterns during the Aurignacian and “Gravettoid” occupations at Franchthi were terrestrial and already rather diversified in comparison to Middle Paleolithic diets in southern Greece. Hunting shifted abruptly to a mixed marine–terrestrial pattern during the Final Paleolithic, and fishing activities intensified though the Mesolithic. The zooarchaeological data indicate two consecutive trends of increasing dietary breadth, the first within an exclusively terrestrial context, and the second as marine habitats came into use through the end of the Mesolithic. The intensity of the human occupations at this site increased in tandem with intensified use of animal and plants. Comparison to the inland site of Klissoura Cave 1 indicates that the trend toward broader diets was regional as well as local.

AUTHORS: Andrea Bettina Yates, Andrew M. Smith, Fiona Bertuch, Birgit Gehlen, Bernhard Gramsch, Martin Heinen, Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Anja Scheffers, Jeffrey Parr, Alfred Pawlik ABSTRACT: In this study we present and assess a process... more

Since July 2013, the project D4 of the Collaborative Research Centre 806 at the University of Cologne has dealt with the Mesolithic in western Germany. During the first phase of this research, the primary tasks were to establish a... more

Since July 2013, the project D4 of the Collaborative Research Centre 806 at the University of Cologne has dealt with the Mesolithic in western Germany. During the first phase of this research, the primary tasks were to establish a regional chronology for the Middle Stone Age on the one hand, and the mapping of all known sites in the Rhineland and Westphalia regarding the different Mesolithic phases on the other. Since July 2017, the project has focused on mobility, cultural exchange, and human-environment interactions during the Final Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic in Central Europe. Due to the poor conditions of preservation, numerous Palaeolithic and Mesolithic assemblages only contain lithic artefacts. Communication networks and mobility patterns of the hunter-gatherer groups can be deduced from the raw material of these finds for a considerable number of sites. Apart from pottery, lithic artefacts and their resources also illustrate the social and economic networks during the Neolithic. The raw material of knapped artefacts and their potential geological sources offer important infor-mation relating to the project's goals.
A map of the potential raw material sources for knapped artefacts in comparison with the archaeological finds is the basis for any suggestion about mobility patterns and communication networks. In general, information on geological lithic sources and the archaeological inventories in western Central Europe is far more detailed than for other regions. These data and all the information gathered on lithic raw material sources for western Ger-many and the Benelux countries allow us to provide a GIS-database using the software QGIS in the form of several maps and data tables with geological and archaeological information as weil as detailed descriptions and references.
One important result of this paper addresses the reconstrnction of lithic raw material catchment areas. Three examples from younger Mesolithic sites show that the more precise petrographic method for identifying lithic raw materials results in much !arger catchment areas than traditional macroscopic identification, leading to new considerations for estimating population densities during the later Middle Stone Age.

Two previously proposed models relating the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition to environmental change in north-west Europe are critically re-examined in the light of accumulating palaeoenvironmental data, and a realistic appraisal of... more

Two previously proposed models relating the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition to environmental change in north-west Europe are critically re-examined in the light of accumulating palaeoenvironmental data, and a realistic appraisal of spatial and temporal resolution. The first deals with declining marine productivity in the western Baltic, and the other with a proposed shift to drier, more continental conditions across north-west Europe. Both models are found to be unsatisfactory, although the case for southern Scandinavia seems to hold greater potential, at least for this region. Problems arise in the spatial scale over which climate change models are intended to apply, and over poor chronological resolution. Understanding the extent and nature of climate change at the relevant period, c. 6000/5800 cal. BP, is far from straightforward, as is the chain of causality between this and the adoption of mixed farming as a way of life.

Barbed bone points originally deposited in Doggerland are regularly collected from the shores of the Netherlands. Their typology and direct 14 C dating suggest they are of Mesolithic age. However, the species of which the barbed points... more

Barbed bone points originally deposited in Doggerland are regularly collected from the shores of the Netherlands. Their typology and direct 14 C dating suggest they are of Mesolithic age. However, the species of which the barbed points were made cannot be identified based on morphological criteria. The bones used to produce the barbed points have been intensively modified during manufacture, use, and post-depositional processes. Here, we taxonomically assess ten barbed points found on the Dutch shore using mass spectrometry and collagen peptide mass fingerprinting alongside newly acquired 14 C ages and δ 13 C and δ 15 N measurements. Our results demonstrate a sufficient preservation of unmodified collagen for mass spectrometry-based taxo-nomic identifications of bone and antler artefacts which have been preserved in marine environments since the beginning of the Holocene. We show that Homo sapiens bones as well as Cervus elaphus bones and antlers were transformed into barbed points. The 14 C dating of nine barbed points yielded uncalibrated ages between 9.5 and 7.3 ka 14 C BP. The δ 13 C and δ 15 N values of the seven cervid bone points fall within the range of herbivores, recovered from the North Sea, whereas the two human bone points indicate a freshwater and/or terrestrial fauna diet. The wide-scale application of ZooMS is a critical next step towards revealing the selection of species for osseous-tool manufacture in the context of Mesolithic Doggerland, but also further afield. The selection of Cervus elaphus and human bone for manufacturing barbed points in Mesolithic Doggerland is unlikely to have been opportunistic and instead seems to be strategic in nature. Further, the occurrence of Homo sapiens and Cervus elaphus bones in our random and limited dataset suggests that the selection of these species for barbed point production was non-random and subject to specific criteria. By highlighting the transformation of human bones into barbed points-possibly used as weapons-our study provides additional evidence for the complex manipulation of human remains during the Mesolithic, now also evidenced in Doggerland.

Throughout the greater part of human evolution in Europe, use of plant foods is invisible and thus might have played a secondary role in nutrition. Ecological changes at the beginning of the early Holocene provoked innovations in early... more

Throughout the greater part of human evolution in Europe, use of plant foods is invisible and thus might have played a secondary role in nutrition. Ecological changes at the beginning of the early Holocene provoked innovations in early Mesolithic subsistence, focusing on the rich plant resources of the increasingly forested environment. High-resolution analyses of the excellently preserved and well-dated special task camps documented in detail at Duvensee, Northern Germany, offer an outstanding opportunity for case studies on Mesolithic subsistence and land use strategies. Quantification of the nut utilisation demonstrates the great importance of hazelnuts. These studies revealed very high return rates and allow for absolute assessments of the development of early Holocene economy. Stockpiling of the
energy rich resource and an increased logistical capacity are innovations characterising an intensified early Mesolithic land use, which is reflected in the stable tradition of uniform seasonal settlement patterns at early Mesolithic Duvensee. The case study reveals characteristics in early Mesolithic subsistence and land use that anticipate attributes of the Neolithic economy.

The valley of the River Tjonger, situated in the Province of Friesland (the Netherlands), is rich in prehistoric organic remains. The fill of the valley, consisting of waterlogged sediments (peat, gyttja and sands), presents favourable... more

The valley of the River Tjonger, situated in the Province of Friesland (the Netherlands), is rich in prehistoric organic remains. The fill of the valley, consisting of waterlogged sediments (peat, gyttja and sands), presents favourable conditions for the preservation of bone, antler and botanical remains. Numerous bones with chop and cut marks, in majority of aurochs (Bos primigenius), are known from several locations in the valley. The Late Mesolithic (ca. 8000–5500 BP) is especially well represented. In this paper we present a recently discovered small hunting and butchering wetland site dating to the Late Mesolithic. The site, named Balkweg, represents a single hunting and primary butchering event pertaining to a small female aurochs with a height at the withers of 134 cm. The morphology of the vertebrae and the phalanges as well as the Late Mesolithic date confirm the identification as an aurochs cow. Single event sites are underrepresented in the archaeological record due to their small size and poor visibility. The importance of aurochs hunting during the Mesolithic is discussed in this paper as well.► A Late Mesolithic single event hunting site was found in the Netherlands. ► The hunting pertained to an extremely small female aurochs. ► Prehistoric single event hunting sites are rarely found. ► Aurochs hunting was part of the subsistence during the Mesolithic.

The Mesolithic-to-Neolithic transition which coincided with rising sea levels, marked the time when a hunter-gatherer economy gave way to agriculture. Bouldnor Cliff is a submarine archaeological site with a well-preserved Mesolithic... more

The Mesolithic-to-Neolithic transition which coincided with rising sea levels, marked the time when a hunter-gatherer economy gave way to agriculture. Bouldnor Cliff is a submarine archaeological site with a well-preserved Mesolithic palaeosol dated to 8000 years BP. We analyze a core obtained from sealed sediments, combining evidence from microgeomorphology and microfossils with sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) analyses to reconstruct floral and faunal changes during occupation of this site, before it was submerged. In agreement with palynological analyses, the sedaDNA sequences suggest a mixed habitat of oak forest and herbaceous plants. However, in later sediments, they also provide evidence of wheat 2000 years earlier than mainland Britain and 400 years earlier than proximate European sites. These results suggest that sophisticated social networks linked the Neolithic front in southern Europe to the Mesolithic peoples of northern Europe.

Demographic change lies at the core of debates on genetic inheritance and resilience to climate change of prehistoric hunter-gatherers. Here we analyze the radiocarbon record of Iberia to reconstruct long-term changes in population levels... more

Demographic change lies at the core of debates on genetic inheritance and resilience to climate change of prehistoric hunter-gatherers. Here we analyze the radiocarbon record of Iberia to reconstruct long-term changes in population levels and test different models of demographic growth during the Last Glacial-Interglacial transition. Our best fitting demographic model is composed of three phases. First, we document a regime of exponential population increase during the Late Glacial warming period (c.16.6-12.9 kya). Second, we identify a phase of sustained population contraction and stagnation, beginning with the cold episode of the Younger Dryas and continuing through the first half of the Early Holocene (12.9-10.2 kya). Finally, we report a third phase of density-dependent logistic growth (10.2-8 kya), with rapid population increase followed by stabilization. Our results support a population bottleneck hypothesis during the Last Glacial-Interglacial transition, providing a demographic context to interpret major shifts of prehistoric genetic groups in southwest Europe.

In this contribution we dismantle the perceived role of marine resources and plant foods in the subsistence economy of Holocene foragers of the Central Mediterranean using a combination of dental calculus and stable isotope analyses. The... more

In this contribution we dismantle the perceived role of marine resources and plant foods in the subsistence economy of Holocene foragers of the Central Mediterranean using a combination of dental calculus and stable isotope analyses. The discovery of fish scales and flesh fragments, starch granules and other plant and animal micro-debris in the dental calculus of a Mesolithic forager dated to the end of the 8th millenium BC and buried in the Vlakno Cave on Dugi Otok Island in the Croatian Archipelago demonstrates that marine resources were regularly consumed by the individual together with a variety of plant foods. Since previous stable isotope data in the Eastern Adriatic and the Mediterranean region emphasises that terrestrial-based resources contributed mainly to Mesolithic diets in the Mediterranean Basin, our results provide an alternative view of the dietary habits of Mesolithic foragers in the Mediterranean region based on a combination of novel methodologies and data. The Central Mediterranean has yielded a unique funerary record whereby large and small islands in the Tyrrhenian, Ionian and Adriatic Seas were selected as burial locations by Mesolithic foragers. Mesolithic burials are known from Sicily, the Egadi Islands, Sardinia, Corsica as well as some islands of the Croatian archipelago 1–9. Despite the importance of marine localities for disposal of the dead, the dietary stable isotopic and zooarchaeo-logical data for these Central Mediterranean foragers has emphasised that marine resources (and plant foods) had a marginal role to their diets 10–17. This pattern is in stark contrast to Mesolithic forgers inhabiting regions along the Atlantic coastline 18,19. Recent methodological developments in the analysis of micro-fossils trapped in human dental calculus has provided a new way for assessing neglected aspects of hunter-gatherer-fisher subsistence along with non-dietary information on human interaction with varied environments 20,21. The potential of this method has mainly been recognised for reconstructing the relative proportion of plant foods in human diets. It has emerged that the harvesting and processing of starchy resources, such as grasses, tubers or roots rich in carbohydrates, might not have been a sole prerogative of agricultural societies 22. Yet, it is more difficult to assess a direct correlation between the presence of plant remains in calculus and estimations of the quantity of the plant foods consumed 23 while micro-debris of animal origin has rarely been recovered in ancient plaque. In addition, the recovery in dental calculus of micro-particles of materials deliberately or accidentally ingested during the performance of various activities has also proven the potential of the study of dental calculus to provide insights into aspects of individual life-ways other than nutrition 20,21,24. In this contribution, we offer new insights into the complexity of Mesolithic diets in the Central Mediterranean by presenting the results of our analysis of dental calculus remains from an individual buried at the site of Vlakno Cave on Dugi Otok (Fig. 1). The analysis of dental calculus presented here will be compared with the results

The authors discuss Late Mesolithic ornament suspension techniques on the basis of their analysis of 288 cyprinid fish pharyngeal teeth appliqués found in an infant burial at the site of Vlasac in the Danube Gorges region of the... more

The authors discuss Late Mesolithic ornament suspension techniques on the basis of their analysis of 288 cyprinid fish pharyngeal teeth appliqués found in an infant burial at the site of Vlasac in the Danube Gorges region of the north-central Balkans. Our interdisciplinary approach includes archaeozoological and taphonomic analyses of archaeological cyprinid teeth ornaments, experiments on modern reference specimens, and the identification of use-wear traces and morphological and physicochemical signatures of residues on archaeological as well as comparative ethnographic ornaments from a selection of
traditional hunteregatherer societies worldwide. While focusing on one particular case study, the paper aims to provide an analytical and methodological framework for archaeological cases dealing with the reconstruction of materials and techniques used in prehistoric systems of ornamentation. Finally, our findings are compared to a strikingly similar set of cyprinid pharyngeal teeth ornaments from broadly contemporaneous Mesolithic sites found in the Upper Danube region, and a discussion is provided that
attempts to account for this similarity.

Abstract: This paper discusses the only substantive evidence for the Epipalaeolithic of central Anatolia. This evidence allows revised understandings of phenomena often proposed as characteristic of the Epipalaeolithic of South-west Asia... more

Abstract:
This paper discusses the only substantive evidence for the Epipalaeolithic of central Anatolia. This evidence allows revised understandings of phenomena often proposed as characteristic of the Epipalaeolithic of South-west Asia including the appearance of sedentism, a putative Broad Spectrum Revolution, intensive plant exploitation and the emergence of distinctive ritual and symbolic practices. It also allows further evaluation of the effect of Late Glacial climate change on human behaviours.
Keywords: Anatolia; Broad Spectrum; Epipalaeolithic; Late Glacial climate change; ritual; sedentism

Archaeological interpretation often links both the European Mesolithic and the complexity with reduced mobility and permanent or semi-permanent settlements. The Iron Gates Gorge (IGG) Mesolithic, on the banks of the Danube, with... more

Archaeological interpretation often links both the European Mesolithic and the complexity with reduced mobility and permanent or semi-permanent settlements. The Iron Gates Gorge (IGG) Mesolithic, on the banks of the Danube, with substantial formal disposal areas for the dead and canonized architecture, espe-cially as manifested at the site of Lepenski Vir, fully conforms to this notion. Different aspects of bioar-chaeological analysis—when evaluated concurrently—offer a counter-intuitive picture: at the time of its most complex development, the site of Lepenski Vir represented a focal point for a larger, more mobile hunter-gatherer group that identified with the site, its burials and its smaller resident population. The arti-cle explores the evidence provided by human skeletal remains and possible reasons behind these contra-dictory results.
Keywords: Biological Anthropology; Bioarchaeology; Europe; Mesolithic; Lepenski Vir; Mobility; Hunter-Gatherers

Acceptance of ritual as a valid interpretation of Mesolithic behaviour has slowly emerged over the past decade; the 'silly season' heralded by Mellars (Antiquity 83:502–517, 2009) has not materialised, though in Ireland and Britain... more

Acceptance of ritual as a valid interpretation of Mesolithic behaviour has slowly emerged over the past decade; the 'silly season' heralded by Mellars (Antiquity 83:502–517, 2009) has not materialised, though in Ireland and Britain difficulties persist in defining what might constitute 'ritual' away from the graveside. New discoveries from both the development-led and academic sectors enable Mesolithic archaeologists to better establish which elements of the archaeological record can be interpreted as ritual. This paper seeks to identify further strands of ritual behaviour , incorporating evidence from sites without organic remains. We consider the evidence for ritual at the site and feature scales, and in the special treatment of objects—an often overlooked body of data in understanding ritual. Thus the material signature of ritual will be questioned, and ways in which Mesolithic ritual can be rehabilitated and expanded will be explored.

""Aquatic resource exploitations in human evolution have raised many questions related to cognitive abilities and subsistence developments. It has been pointed out that the evaluation of freshwater resource consumption based on... more

""Aquatic resource exploitations in human evolution have raised many questions related to cognitive abilities and subsistence developments. It has been pointed out that the evaluation of freshwater resource consumption based on conventional stable CN isotopic composition of bulk bone collagen faces some
difficulties, primarily because isotopic distinction between terrestrial and freshwater animals can be ambiguous and, even worse, can show similar values. In this study we tested the potential of nitrogen
isotope analysis of individual amino acids in this evaluation. Our preliminary results for archaeological human and faunal remains from Mesolithic and Epipalaeolithic sites in France (Noyen-sur-Seine and Pont d’Ambon) show that estimated trophic positions for terrestrial animals based on δ15N of glutamic acid and phenylalanine are more precise than the bulk collagen isotopic method, allowing human aquatic resource consumptions to be identified. However, since the ability to quantify is still limited, a combination of several approaches is recommended.""

This article presents the results of an interdisciplinary study of the Late Mesolithic site of Ludowice 6 in Central Poland. Here, the remains of three shelters/huts were identified, each with a clearly organised functional space, in... more

This article presents the results of an interdisciplinary study of the Late Mesolithic site of Ludowice 6 in Central Poland. Here, the remains of three shelters/huts were identified, each with a clearly organised functional space, in which zones for various activity types could be distinguished. It is suggested that the camp was seasonally used in the early autumn. Most probably, it served as a location for conducting the highly specialised processing of silica plants. The functional structure of an excavated tool assemblage indicates that this place might have been used to acquire plant material seasonally, which was later transported to a base camp situated elsewhere. The location and characteristics of individual activity zones, as well as the manner in which projectile points were dispersed, together with the characteristics and the intensity of flint processing allowed us to test a hypothesis that it could have been used mainly by women.

The aim of this research is the isotopic characterisation of archaeological fish species to freshwater, brackish and marine environments, trophic level and migration patterns, and to determine intraspecies variation within and between... more

The aim of this research is the isotopic characterisation of archaeological fish species to freshwater, brackish and marine environments, trophic level and migration patterns, and to determine intraspecies variation within and between fish populations differing in location within central and northern Europe. Thus, carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis was undertaken on collagen extracted from 72 fish bone samples from eight Mesolithic and Neolithic archaeological sites in central and northern Europe. Thirty-six (50%) of the specimens analysed produced results with acceptable carbon to nitrogen atomic ratios (2·9–3·6). The fish remains encompassed a wide spectrum of freshwater, brackish and marine taxa (n=12), and this is reflected in the δ13C values (−24·5 to −7·8‰). The freshwater/brackish fish (pike, Esox lucius; perch, Perca fluviatilis; zander, Sander lucioperca) had δ13C values that ranged from −24·2 to −19·3‰, whereas the brackish/marine fish (spurdog, Squalus acanthias; flatfish, Pleuronectidae; codfish, Gadidae; garfish, Belone belone; mackerel, Scomber scombrus) ranged from −14·9 to −9·4‰. Salmonidae, an anadromous taxon, and the eel (Anguilla anguilla), a catadromous species, had carbon isotope values consistent with marine origin, and no evidence of freshwater residency (−12·7 to −11·7‰). The δ15N values had a range of 6·2‰ (6·5–12·7‰) indicating that these fish were on average feeding at 1·7 trophic levels higher than their producers in these diverse aquatic environments. These results serve as an important ecological baseline for the future isotopic reconstruction of the diet of human populations dating to the late Mesolithic and early Neolithic of the region.

Human demography research in grounded on the information derived from ancient DNA and archaeology. For example, the study on the early postglacial dual-route colonisation of the Scandinavian Peninsula is largely based on associating... more

Human demography research in grounded on the information derived from ancient DNA and archaeology. For example, the study on the early postglacial dual-route colonisation of the Scandinavian Peninsula is largely based on associating genomic data with the early dispersal of lithic technology from the East European Plain. However, a clear connection between material culture and genetics has been lacking. Here, we demonstrate that direct connection by analysing human DNA from chewed birch bark pitch mastics. These samples were discovered at Huseby Klev in western Sweden, a Mesolithic site with eastern lithic technology. We generated genome-wide data for three individuals, and show their affinity to the Scan-dinavian hunter-gatherers. Our samples date to 9880-9540 calBP, expanding the temporal range and distribution of the early Scandinavian genetic group. We propose that DNA from ancient mastics can be used to study environment and ecology of prehistoric populations.

Wood charcoal is an important tool for inferring human use of fire and exploitation of woodland resources. Using Cabeço da Amoreira shellmidden as study case, this paper aims to understand fuelwood use in the site, identifying patterns of... more

Wood charcoal is an important tool for inferring human use of fire and exploitation of woodland resources. Using Cabeço da Amoreira shellmidden as study case, this paper aims to understand fuelwood use in the site, identifying patterns of wood exploitation and combustion related to different activities. Pine wood and presence of oak are the most common and are present in almost every context. Minor taxa is present, but the relation with specific activities in the site is not conclusive. However, data seem to indicate a usage of deadwood and exploitation of the most abundant taxa in the Muge valley.

Since the 19th century, the so-called “Fontainebleau rock art” have been recognized in small cavities of the southern part of the Ile de France, in a rare context typified by accumulations of eroded sandstone boulders. The dating of this... more

Since the 19th century, the so-called “Fontainebleau rock art” have been recognized in small cavities of the southern part of the Ile de France, in a rare context typified by accumulations of eroded sandstone boulders. The dating of this non-figurative art, characterized by numerous grooved lines and grids, has always been the subject of much speculation. In the last thirty years, an attribution to the Mesolithic has been the most widely accepted interpretation owing to the discovery of highly worn lithic objects, considered as engraving tools and associated with Mesolithic artifacts in several rock shelters. This paper aims to question the Mesolithic hypothesis in the light of a new methodological and archaeological approach. First, a use-wear analysis of several hundred worn tools from three rock shelters confirms their connection with the numerous lines grooved in the sandstone walls. In a second time, a critical review of the archaeological data consolidates the Mesolithic dating. The engraving tools are always associated with a diagnostic industry, but the typology of the microliths discovered in the archaeological layers indicates mixture between several phases of the regional Mesolithic. Luckily, the typo-technological analyses of the engraving tool blanks highlight the systematic re-use of Early Mesolithic tools and bladelets as opposed to Late Mesolithic artifacts which are never worn by sandstone grooving. Considering the recurrence of these observations for the three studied rock shelters, the Early Mesolithic dating of the Fontainebleau rock art can be considered as a solid hypothesis, identifying the southern part of Ile-de-France as one of the major regions in Europe as concerns Mesolithic rock art.

Located on the Iberian Mediterranean coast, El Collado is an open-air site where a rescue excavation was conducted over two seasons in 1987 and 1988. The archaeological work excavated a surface area of 143m2 where 14 burials were... more

Located on the Iberian Mediterranean coast, El Collado is an open-air site where a rescue
excavation was conducted over two seasons in 1987 and 1988. The archaeological work
excavated a surface area of 143m2 where 14 burials were discovered, providing skeletal remains
from 15 individuals. We have obtained AMS dates for 10 of the 15 individuals by
means of the direct dating of human bones. The ranges of the probability distribution of the
calibrated dates suggest that the cemetery was used during a long period of time (781–
1020 years at a probability of 95.4%). The new dates consequently set back the chronocultural
attribution of the cemetery from the initial proposal of Late Mesolithic to an older
date in the Early Mesolithic. Therefore, El Collado becomes the oldest known cemetery in
the Iberian Peninsula, earlier than the numerous Mesolithic funerary contexts documented
on the Atlantic façade such as the Portuguese shell-middens in the Muge and Sado Estuaries
or the funerary sites on the northern Iberian coast.

The aim of this paper is to review the current state of research for the Early Neolithic (c.5000–c.4300 cal BC) in Cantabrian Spain. Bayesian chronological models have been constructed to examine the neolithisation process and assess the... more

The aim of this paper is to review the current state of research for the Early Neolithic (c.5000–c.4300 cal BC) in Cantabrian Spain. Bayesian chronological models have been constructed to examine the neolithisation process and assess the role radiocarbon dates may play in understanding this period. The models suggest that the disappearance of hunter-gatherer societies took place after the first Neolithic groups were active in the region. These results agree with the archaeological record for the Early Neolithic and are compatible with a “mosaic” neolithisation process in which local Mesolithic groups clearly participated.

Ochre is an important mineral pigment used by prehistoric hunter-gatherers across the globe, and its use in the Mesolithic is no exception. Using optical microscopy and Raman spectroscopy with micrometre spatial resolution (micro-Raman),... more

Ochre is an important mineral pigment used by prehistoric hunter-gatherers across the globe, and its use in the Mesolithic is no exception. Using optical microscopy and Raman spectroscopy with micrometre spatial resolution (micro-Raman), we present evidence that confirms unambiguously the use of ochre by hunter-gatherers at Mesolithic sites surrounding Palaeo-Lake Flixton, Vale of Pickering, North Yorkshire, UK. Our results suggest that people collected ochre and processed it in different ways, likely for diverse purposes. The quality and specificity of chemical characterisation possible with micro-Raman facilitates new avenues for further research on ochreous materials in Britain, including provenancing through chemical 'fingerprinting'.

The paper applies Bayesian statistical modelling to radiocarbon dates obtained for a stratigraphic sequence comprising occupation features and superimposed burials from the Late Mesolithic (ca. 7400–6200 cal. BC) to the... more

The paper applies Bayesian statistical modelling to radiocarbon dates obtained for a stratigraphic sequence comprising occupation features and superimposed burials from the Late Mesolithic (ca. 7400–6200 cal. BC) to the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition (ca. 6200–5900 cal. BC) from Vlasac in the Danube Gorges region of the north-central Balkans. This sequence, investigated in the course of excavations at the site in 2006–2009, yielded stratigraphic evidence of transformation of local forager populations as a result of contact with Neolithic communities. Our paper provides a reliable chronological framework for changes from Late Mesolithic burial rites to new, Neolithic types of ornamental beads at the top of the sequence. The use of the same burial location and continuities in burial rites over a considerable period of time raise significant questions about the role of tradition and the potential for enduring practices in prehistoric societies.

Biological studies on Mesolithic human remains from the Polish region are a rare subject of scientific research due to the limited number of these relics and their poor state of preservation. From the project titled "Old material with new... more

Biological studies on Mesolithic human remains from the Polish region are a rare subject of scientific research due to the limited number of these relics and their poor state of preservation. From the project titled "Old material with new methods: Using the latest biochemical analysis in studies of Mesolithic human remains from the Polish areas," the radiocarbon (14 C) dating of bones using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) has been performed. For these experiments, the gelatin was extracted from bones, and its quality evaluated by the C/N at ratio and the stable isotope composition of both carbon and nitrogen. The 14 C results have been obtained for 11 bone samples from 5 sites, and throughout this work the results of two preparation methods are compared. The simple gelatin extraction provided material with unsatisfactory collagen quality indicators, while additional alkali treatment allowed us to obtain much more reliable, and generally older, results. Additionally, analysis on VIRI/SIRI samples were conducted to test the developed method. Only seven of the investigated bone samples yielded ages within Mesolithic period, and the most reliable dates range from 5800 to 6800 cal BC. One sample was not datable, and two were shown to be much younger than expected.