Author: Chantal Conneller Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1000475158 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 437
Book Description
The Mesolithic in Britain proposes a new division of the Mesolithic period into four parts, each with its distinct character. The Mesolithic has previously been seen as timeless, where little changed over thousands of years. This new synthesis draws on advances in scientific dating to understand the Mesolithic inhabitation of Britain as a historical process. The period was, in fact, a time of profound change: houses, monuments, middens, long-term use of sites and regions, manipulation of the environment and the symbolic deposition of human and animal remains all emerged as significant practices in Britain for the first time. The book describes the lives of the first pioneers in the Early Mesolithic; the emergence of new modes of inhabitation in the Middle Mesolithic; the regionally diverse settlement of the Late Mesolithic; and the radical changes of the final millennium of the period. The first synthesis of Mesolithic Britain since 1932, it takes both a chronological and a regional approach. This book will serve as an essential text for anyone studying the period: undergraduate and graduate students, specialists in the field and community archaeology groups.
Author: Peter Woodman Publisher: Oxbow Books ISBN: 1782977813 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 409
Book Description
Ireland’s First Settlers tells the story of the archaeology and history of the first continuous phase of Ireland’s human settlement. It combines centuries of search and speculation about human antiquity in Ireland with a review of what is known today about the Irish Mesolithic. This is, in part, provided in the context of the author’s 50 years of personal experience searching to make sense of what initially appeared to be little more than a collection of beach rolled and battered flint tools. The story is embedded in how the island of Ireland, its position, distinct landscape and ecology impacted on when and how Ireland was colonized. It also explores how these first settlers evolved their technologies and lifeways to suit the narrow range of abundant resources that were available. The volume concludes with discussions on how the landscape should be searched for the often ephemeral traces of these early settlers and how sites should be excavated. It asks what we really know about the thoughts and life of the people themselves and what happened to them as farming began to be introduced.
Author: Lars Larsson Publisher: Oxbow Books Limited ISBN: Category : History Languages : en Pages : 760
Book Description
What do we know about the Mesolithic? What distinguishes the Mesolithic from earlier and later periods of human history? What do the Mesolithic cultures of Europe have in common, and what differentiates them from one another? This comprehensive volume contains 89 papers which attempt to answer the questions of the Mesolithic; the papers were presented at the Sixth International Conference on the Mesolithic in Europe held in Stockholm, 2000.
Author: Nena Galanidou Publisher: ISBN: Category : History Languages : en Pages : 232
Book Description
"This book is the first major review of the Mesolithic age of Greece," writes Colin Renfrew "If the (Franchthi Cave publications) represent a first milestone in mesolithic studies in the Aegean, this volume certainly constitutes a second. It establishes a perspective going beyond that of the single key site, allowing earlier finds such as those from Sidari on Corfu to be re-assessed, and including more recent discoveries at the Theopetra Cave, at the Cave of Cyclope on Youra, and from the Klisoura Gorge. The book moreover develops a number of methodological advances, along with a careful review of the chronology. It embarks also upon detailed investigations of the fauna and microfauna."
Author: Almut Schülke Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1351398814 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 328
Book Description
Coastal Landscapes of the Mesolithic: Human Engagement with the Coast from the Atlantic to the Baltic Sea explores the character and significance of coastal landscapes in the Mesolithic – on different scales and with various theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches. Mesolithic people were strongly connected to the sea, with coastal areas vital for subsistence and communication across the water. This anthology includes case studies from Scandinavia, western Europe and the Baltic area, presented by key international researchers. Topics addressed include large-scale analyses of the archaeological and geological development of coastal areas, the exploration of coastal environments with interdisciplinary methods, the discussion of the character of coastal settlements and of their possible networks, social and economic practices along the coast, as well as perceptions and cosmological aspects of coastal areas. Together, these topics and approaches contribute in an innovative way to the understanding of the complexity of topographically changing coastal areas as both border zones between land and sea and as connecting landscapes. Providing novel insights into the study of the Mesolithic as well as coastal areas and landscapes in general, the book is an important resource for researchers of the Mesolithic and coastal archaeology.
Author: Adamantios Sampson Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing ISBN: 1527537927 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 204
Book Description
Old theories for the origins of domesticated animals and plants from the East and the spread of farming and husbandry in Europe have affected generations of archaeologists, resulting in several theories of migrations of populations. However, there is no evidence in the archaeological record of population movements from the East, while so far the contribution of the pre-Neolithic populations of the Aegean has been neglected. This book shows that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers developed a dense maritime network on the Aegean islands and contributed to the Neolithisation process, transferring domesticated species from the East to the Aegean through Cyprus. Their great specialization in fishing and long journeys was due to a tradition that had roots in the Palaeolithic period. This text is based on practical experience from excavations and surface surveys over the past 25 years in Mesolithic and Neolithic sites in the Aegean Basin and continental Greece.
Author: Scott A. Elias Publisher: Elsevier ISBN: 0444538224 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 141
Book Description
Innovation and creativity are two of the key characteristics that distinguish cultural transmission from biological transmission. This book explores a number of questions concerning the nature and timing of the origins of human creativity. What were the driving factors in the development of new technologies? What caused the stasis in stone tool technological innovation in the Early Pleistocene? Were there specific regions and episodes of enhanced technological development, or did it occur at a steady pace where ancestral humans lived? The authors are archaeologists who address these questions, armed with data from ancient artefacts such as shell beads used as jewelry, primitive musical instruments, and sophisticated techniques required to fashion certain kinds of stone into tools. Providing 'state of art' discussions that step back from the usual archaeological publications that focus mainly on individual site discoveries, this book presents the full picture on how and why creativity in Middle to Late Pleistocene archeology/anthropology evolved. - Gives a full, original and multidisciplinary perspective on how and why creativity evolved in the Middle to Late Pleistocene - Enhances our understanding of the big leaps forward in creativity at certain times - Assesses the intellectual creativity of Homo erectus, H. neanderthalensis, and H. sapiens via their artefacts
Author: Chantal Conneller
Author: Geoff Bailey
Author: Peter Woodman
Author: Grahame Clark
Author: Lars Larsson
Author: Nena Galanidou
Author: Almut Schülke
Author: 
Author: Adamantios Sampson
Author: Scott A. Elias