Download or read book Prehistoric Wales written by Frances Lynch and published by Sutton Publishing Limited. This book was released on 2000 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A title which aims to give the reader a modern and authoratative summary of research interpretations on prehistoric monuments, sites and artefacts. This book should be of interest to anyone who has a serious interest in Welsh history and in early settlement and society in the British Isles.

Download or read book Hunters Fishers and Foragers in Wales written by Malcolm Lillie and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2015-07-31 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Malcolm Lillie presents a major new holistic appraisal of the evidence for the Mesolithic occupation of Wales. The story begins with a discourse on the Palaeolithic background. In order to set the entire Mesolithic period into its context, subsequent chapters follow a sequence from the palaeoenvironmental background, through a consideration of the use of stone tools, settlement patterning and evidence for subsistence strategies and the range of available resources. Less obvious aspects of hunter-forager and subsequent hunter-fisher-forager groups include the arenas of symbolism, ritual and spirituality that would have been embedded in everyday life. The author here endeavors to integrate an evaluation of these aspects of Mesolithic society in developing a social narrative of Mesolithic lifeways throughout the text in an effort to bring the past to life in a meaningful and considered way. The term ‘hunter-fisher-foragers’ implies a particular combination of subsistence activities, but whilst some groups may well have integrated this range of economic activities into their subsistence strategies, others may not have. The situation in coastal areas of Wales, in relation to subsistence, settlement and even spiritual matters would not necessarily be the same as in upland areas, even when the same groups moved between these zones in the landscape. The volume concludes with a discussion of the theoretical basis for the shift away from the exploitation of wild resources towards the integration of domesticates into subsistence strategies, i.e. the shift from food procurement to food production, and assesses the context of the changes that occurred as human groups re-orientated their socioeconomic, political and ritual beliefs in light of newly available resources, influences from the continent, and ultimately their social condition at the time of ‘transition’.

Download or read book Catalogue of the Mesolithic and Neolithic Collections at the National Museums and Galleries of Wales written by Stephen Burrow and published by National Museum Wales. This book was released on 2003 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This essential and unique aspect of the Museum's collections is comprehensively catalogued for the first time. Contains background information on archaeological finds and their locations.

Download or read book Dorothy Garrod and the Progress of the Palaeolithic written by William Davies and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2017-03-20 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dorothy Garrod opened many doors; not only was she the first female professor at Cambridge University, but she illuminated - and in some cases initiated - some of prehistoric archaeology's most central issues. The quiet yet self possessed woman was best known as a fieldworker, often venturing into dangerous regions such as Kurdistan. Her first and highly successful excavation revealed fragments of Neanderthal fossils in Gibralter. This volume reviews modern research on this site, as well as exploring other issues which interested the Disney Professor of Archaeology: hominid remains from Mount Carmel; Palaeolithic sites in the Zagros Mountains, Bulgaria and Britain; and the cultural evidence for the beginning of Near Eastern food production, which Garrod called Natufian. Also included are papers concerned with her life, background and published work. The topics' span and continuing relevance are testament to Dorothy Garrod's remarkable character and great achievements.

Download or read book The British Palaeolithic written by Paul Pettitt and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-11-27 with total page 616 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The British Palaeolithic provides the first academic synthesis of the entire British Palaeolithic, from the earliest occupation (currently understood to be around 980,000 years ago) to the end of the Ice Age. Landscape and ecology form the canvas for an explicitly interpretative approach aimed at understanding the how different hominin societies addressed the issues of life at the edge of the Pleistocene world. Commencing with a consideration of the earliest hominin settlement of Europe, the book goes on to examine the behavioural, cultural and adaptive repertoires of the first human occupants of Britain from an ecological perspective. These themes flow throughout the book as it explores subsequent occupational pulses across more than half a million years of Pleistocene prehistory, which saw Homo heidelbergensis, the Neanderthals and ultimately Homo sapiens walk these shores. The British Palaeolithic fills a major gap in teaching resources as well as in research by providing a current synthesis of the latest research on the period. This book represents the culmination of 40 years combined research in this area by two well known experts in the field, and is an important new text for students of British archaeology as well as for students and researchers of the continental Palaeolithic period.

Download or read book The First Stones written by William Britnell and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2022-12-01 with total page 614 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The First Stones brings together the results of recent research on the Neolithic long cairns lying in the shadow of the Black Mountains in south-east Wales, focusing upon Penywyrlod and Gwernvale, the two best known tombs within the group, previously excavated in the 1970s. Important results lie in both new site detail and reassessment of the wider context. Small-scale excavation, geophysical survey and geological assessment at Penywyrlod – the largest of the Welsh long cairns – gave further information about the distinctive external and internal architecture of the monument. In turn, this opened the opportunity to reassess the pre-monument sequence at Gwernvale, with re-examination of both Mesolithic and Neolithic occupations, including a timber structure and midden, lithic and pottery assemblages, and cereal remains. The frame for wider reassessment is given by fresh chronological modeling both of the monuments themselves, suggesting a sequence from Penywyrlod and Pipton to Ty Isaf and Gwernvale, probably spanning the 38th to the 36th or 35th centuries cal BC, and of early Neolithic activity in south Wales and the Marches, probably beginning in the 39th century cal BC. A detailed study of the major assemblages of human remains from the Black Mountains tombs includes evidence for diet, trauma and lifestyles of the populations represented. Recent isotope analysis of human remains from the tombs is also reviewed, implying social mobility and migration within local populations during the early Neolithic. The First Stones makes a significant contribution to the study of tomb building, treatment of the dead, place making, the relationship of monuments to landscape, local and regional identities, connections and affiliations across southern Britain and the adjacent continent, and Neolithization in western Britain. Viewed within the context of tombs within the Cotswold-Severn tradition as a whole, it leads to an appreciation of the local and regional distinctiveness of architecture and mortuary practice exhibited by the tombs in this area of south-east Wales, emerging as part of the intake of a significant inland area in the early centuries of the Neolithic.

Download or read book Neolithic Stone Extraction in Britain and Europe written by Peter Topping and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2021-12-31 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new title in the acclaimed Prehistoric Society Research Papers series focuses on the introduction of Neolithic extraction practices across Europe through to the Atlantic periphery of Britain and Ireland. The key research questions are when and why these practices were adopted, and what role extraction sites played in Neolithic society. Neolithic mines and quarries have frequently been seen as fulfilling economic roles linked to the expansion of the Neolithic economy. However, this ignores the fact that many communities chose to selectively dig for certain types of stone in preference to others, and why the products from these sites were generally deposited in special places such as wetlands. To address this question, 168 near-global ethnographic studies were analysed to identify common trends in traditional extraction practises to produce robust statistics about their motivations and material signatures. Repeated associations emerged between storied locations, the organisation of extraction practises, long-distance distribution of products, and the material evidence such activities left behind. This suggests that we can now probably identify mythologised/storied sites, seasonality, ritualised extraction, and the uselife of extraction site products. The ethnographic model was tested against data from 223 near-global archaeological extraction sites which confirmed a similar patterning in both material records, suggesting it can be used to interpret broad trends in many cross-cultural contexts and time periods. Finally, the new ethnoarchaeological model has been used to analyse the social context of 79 Neolithic flint mine and 51 axe quarry excavations in Britain and Ireland, and to review their European origins. The evidence which emerges confirms the pivotal role played by Neolithic extraction practices in European Neolithisation, and that the interaction of indigenous foragers with migrant miner/farmers in Britain, Ireland and elsewhere was fundamental to the adoption of the new agro-pastoral lifestyle.

Download or read book Ireland s First Settlers written by Peter Woodman and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2015-12-31 with total page 644 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Brecknock Brycheiniog written by Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales and published by Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. This book was released on 1997 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This publication forms Part i of the Royal Commission's Inventory of the Prehistoric and Roman remains of the County of Brecknock (Brycheiniog). Part ii, Hill-Forts and Roman remains was produced in 1986. This volume covers Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age sites with all undefended and unenclosed settlements of probable pre-Norman date, together with summary finds lists and a handlist of Dark Age inscribed stones. Of particular interest in this volume are plans of the unenclosed settlements, some forming parts of palimpsest landscapes, the survey of which was a new departure for the Royal Commission. Inventory Part i: Later Prehistoric Monuments and Unenclosed Settlements to 1000 A.D. Physical Background and Post-glacial History Cave Archaeology Prehistoric (and later) cave sites The Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Periods Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites and findspots Neolithic Settlement and Burial Neolithic Court Tombs Burial and Ritual Structures of the Bronze Age Round Cairns and Barrows of the Bronze Age Other Bronze Age Burials and Lost Cairns; Tithe Award and other Placenames Stone Circles and Stone Settings Stone Circles and Stone Settings: the sites Standing Stones Standing Stones: the sites Mounds of Burned Stone Burned Mounds Later Prehistoric and Protohistoric Settlement Unenclosed Settlements Hillforts (Addendum to Vol 1 (ii) Early Medieval Landholding, Estates and Ecclesiastical Centres Crannog A Handlist of Early Christian Stones Later Prehistoric Lithic Finds Handlist of Bronze Age Bronze Artefacts Index of National Grid References Glossary: General Glossary: Welsh Place-name Elements General Index

Download or read book Classification of Lithic Artefacts from the British Late Glacial and Holocene Periods written by Torben Bjarke Ballin and published by Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2021-04-22 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume offers a system for the hierarchical classification of British lithic artefacts from the Late Glacial and Holocene periods, and it is hoped that it may find use as a guide book for, for example, archaeology students, museum staff, non-specialist archaeologists, local archaeology groups and lay enthusiasts.

Download or read book The Archaeological and Forensic Applications of Microfossils A Deeper Understanding of Human History The Archaeological and Forensic Applications of Microfossils written by M. Williams and published by Geological Society of London. This book was released on 2017-06-16 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Microfossils are an abundant component of the sedimentary rock record. Their analysis can reveal not only the environments in which the rocks were deposited, but also their age. When combined, the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of microfossils offer enormous utility for archaeological and forensic investigations. Their presence can act as a geological ‘fingerprint’ and the tiniest fragment of material, such as a broken Iron Age potsherd, can contain a microfossil signature that reveals the geographical source of the materials under investigation. This book explores how microfossils are employed as tools to interpret human society and habitation throughout history. Examples include microfossil evidence associated with Palaeolithic human occupation at Boxgrove in Sussex, alongside investigations into human-induced landscape change during the Holocene. Further examples include the use of microfossils to provenance the source materials of Iron Age ceramics, Roman mosaics and Minoan pottery, in addition to their application to help solve modern murder cases, highlighting the diverse applications of microfossils to improving our understanding of human history.

Download or read book Llangorse Crannog written by Alan Lane and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2020-02-28 with total page 514 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The crannog on Llangorse Lake near Brecon in mid Wales was discovered in 1867 and first excavated in 1869 by two local antiquaries, Edgar and Henry Dumbleton, who published their findings over the next four years. In 1988 dendrochronological dates from submerged palisade planks established its construction in the ninth century, and a combined off- and on-shore investigation of the site was started as a joint project between Cardiff University and Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales. The subsequent surveys and excavation (1989-1994, 2004) resulted in the recovery of a remarkable time capsule of life in the late ninth and tenth century, on the only crannog yet identified in Wales. This publication re-examines the early investigations, describes in detail the anatomy of the crannog mound and its construction, and the material culture found. The crannog’s treasures include early medieval secular and religious metalwork, evidence for manufacture, the largest depository of early medieval carpentry in Wales and a remarkable richly embroidered silk and linen textile which is fully analysed and placed in context. The crannog’s place in Welsh history is explored, as a royal llys (‘court’) within the kingdom of Brycheiniog. Historical record indicates the site was destroyed in 916 by Aethelflaed, the Mercian queen, in the course of the Viking wars of the early tenth century. The subsequent significance of the crannog in local traditions and its post-medieval occupation during a riotous dispute in the reign Elizabeth I are also discussed. Two logboats from the vicinity of the crannog are analysed, and a replica described. The cultural affinities of the crannog and its material culture is assessed, as are their relationship to origin myths for the kingdom, and to probable links with early medieval Ireland. The folk tales associated with the lake are explored, in a book that brings together archaeology, history, myths and legends, underwater and terrestrial archaeology.

Download or read book Prehistoric Britain written by Timothy Darvill and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-07-02 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prehistoric Britain, now in its second edition, examines the development of human societies in Britain from earliest times to the Roman conquest of AD 43, as revealed by archaeological evidence. Special attention is given to six themes which are traced through prehistory: subsistence, technology, ritual, trade, society, and population.

Download or read book Britain Begins written by Barry Cunliffe and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2013 with total page 567 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of the origins of the British and the Irish peoples, from the end of the last Ice Age around 10,000BC to the eve of the Norman Conquest - who they were, where they came from, and how they related to one another.

Download or read book The Prehistory of Britain and Ireland written by Richard Bradley and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-05-16 with total page 391 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Highlights the achievements of prehistoric people in Britain and Ireland over a 5,000 year period.

Download or read book The Archaeology of the Welsh Uplands written by David M. Browne and published by Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. This book was released on 2003 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cyfrol llawn lluniau yn archwilio i ardaloedd ucheldirol Cymru, gyda sylw arbennig i hanes a gorffennol diwydiannol yr ardaloedd hyn a'u pwysigrwydd i ddatblygiad cymdeithasol ac economaidd y wlad. Cyhoeddwyd yn wreiddiol yn Mawrth 2004. -- Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru

Download or read book Mesolithic Settlement in the North Sea Basin written by Clive Waddington and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2007-12-20 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The archaeological remains at Howick consist of a Mesolithic hut site and an Early Bronze Age cist cemetery located on a modern cliff edge overlooking a small estuary. This volume is devoted solely to the reporting and interpretation of the Mesolithic remains. Three huts had been constructed on the Howick site, all on the same footprint, with no evidence to indicate a gap between these occupations, and the remains inside the hut were all consistent with its use as a habitation site. The lithic material from Howick is the most accurately dated assemblage from any British Mesolithic site and is a classic example of a narrow-blade industry. Typically for Britain these sites date from around 7500 cal BC but the Howick dates indicate an earlier start for this type of industry. The chipped stone assemblage from Howick is all made from locally occurring beach pebble flint which fits into the wider pattern of localised raw material acquisition by groups elsewhere in North-East England. A wide variety of tool types were found within the hut reflecting the diverse activities that appear to have taken place there. With such a wide range of resources on offer on a year-round basis, the site is interpreted as a base camp settlement that was used by the same group and their descendants over a period of several generations lasting for somewhere in the region of 200 years. The size of the hut indicates its use by a family-sized group. The Howick excavations have forced a rethink of the scale and nature of Mesolithic settlement in North-East England, as well as the relationship between this and other regions around the North Sea Basin. It is hoped that this work will help encourage further research into the Mesolithic of the region and its interactions with adjacent areas of upland, other North Sea Basin communities, as well as groups occupying the lands further north and south.