Mesolithic-Neolithic TransitionLiz Herbert

Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition; Aims• The aim of the session is• To provide you with an overview of current

perspectives on the Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition in Britain.

Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition• Introduction• Theoretical perspectives• The Problems• Neolithic Package• Models for Change• Transition• Conclusion

Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition• The debate: Population Replacement versus

Indigenous adoption• Relative importance of• Social, economic & environmental factors• Time-scales involved• Degree of regional Variations in process of change

Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition: Theoretical perspectives• Culture-historical model

(Piggott 1954) • Neolithic marked by intrusive

agrarian population arranged in various regional and cultural groups.

• Fieldwork concentrated on Southern parts of Britain

• Bias created by contemporary perceptions and assumptions as much as about apparent archaeological richness of the south.

• Advances• Radiocarbon dating, • Aerial photography extended

distributions

•

Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition: Theoretical perspectives• Processual archaeology

1960’s-1980’s.• Concern with culture decreased• Research into individual

monuments & artefact types remained plentiful.

• A focus on a combination of expansive economy, growing populations and changing social structure dominated research.

• Concerns about subsistence lead to better recovery of bone and plant remains.

• Earlier ideas of shifting agriculture & shifting settlement generally disregarded

Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition: Theoretical perspectives• Post-processual from early 1980’

• Questioned the sedentary nature of Neolithic peoples

• Dominant role of agriculture challenged

• Meanings of monuments & associated practices emphasised.

• Material culture seen as an active agent in promoting individual & secular interest rather than solely as a reflector of group affiliation.

• Conceptual and symbolic importance of domestication emphasised

• Interest in agency & independence of Neolithic populations viewed social actors encouraging new consensus of continuity from Mesolithic to Neolithic replacing colonisation model, but allowed for social change to be variable

Taversoe Tuick

Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition: Theoretical perspectives• Since 1980 more work in the

North, monuments and monument complexes in Eastern Scotland, Orkney & the Western isles.

• Different approaches• Evolutionary assumption

cultural & other change leads to social complexity & differentiation

• Social dynamic driving change

• Competition for power or social pre-eminence.

• More engendered archaeology: shared values/ideals

Midhowe chambered cairn

Callanish standing stones

The Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition

• The Problems• Limited direct evidence• Existing evidence available can support variety of interpretations• New evidence is not conclusive, contradictory & points in a number of directions

Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition• Neolithic Package• Domesticated plants• Domesticated animals• Polished stone tools• Pottery• Monumental Architecture

The Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition• Models for Change

• One favoured model: proposes motivation as economic, demographic or both leading to recasting of lifestyles to alleviate pressure on resources

• Another model: Social competition as the spur to change (Ertebølle comparison)

• Another: A change in character in the Neolithic making it suitable as a means through which personal and social identities could be constructed and maintained.

The Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition• Rapid Transition• Simultaneous with

Ireland & Southern Scandinavia

• Similarities in Material culture over wide geographic areas

• Apparent contrast with growing evidence for economic diversity

• Colonisation versus adoption?

Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition• Was Britain Isolated?• Awareness of Neolithic

material Culture (Mesolithic)?

• Movement of small groups European agriculturists?

• Colossal movement of population from continent?

• Adoption by indigenous populations common consensus Became Neolithic from 4000-4200BCE

The Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition: Conclusion• Mesolithic-Neolithic transition is complex• Caution over generalisations based on evidence

from single sites, single data sets or small samples

• Transition from mobile Mesolithic-mobile Neolithic• Continuity & Change• Neolithic material culture spread throughout the

British Isles

Bibliography• Anderson, E. (1993) Fishing for answers in E. Shee Twohig & M,

Ronayne (eds.), Past perceptions 16-24)• Bradley, R. (1993) Altering the Earth: the origins of monuments in

Britain and Continental Europe, Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Monograph Series 8.

• Hodder, I. R. (1982) Symbols in Action, Cambridge: CUP• Thomas J. (2005) Current debates on Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in

Britain & Ireland in Documenta Praehistoria XXX1• Tilley, C. (1994) A phenomenology of landscape: places, paths &

monuments, Oxford: Berg • Whittle, A. (2008) ‘The Neolithic Period c. 4000-2500/2200 BC’, In

Hunter, J. & Ralston, I. (eds.) The Archaeology of Britain: An Introduction from the Upper palaeolithic to the Industrial Revolution, London: Routledge

• Zvelebil, M. (1994)’Plant use in the Mesolithic & its role in the transition to farming, Proccedings of the Prehistoric Society 60, 35-74

OVER TO YOU• Any Questions?