The Stone Age, revison notes
... trade. This complex relationship between groups shows an aspect of society not seen before. There is also an amazing array of art in Europe. Britain was initially to cold to sustain life but there was evidence from Paviland Cave which was dated to 26,350 +/- 550 yrs ago. A ritual burial was found in the cave in 1823 it was initially thought to be a woman but it is in fact a man of about 25 yrs old he was covered in red ochre and buried with ornaments such as bone, antler and sea shells. 15000 to 12000 yrs ago Britain became warm enough to inhabit, animals came across the land bridge from France and man followed. The Mesolithic End of upper Palaeolithic signalled by end of glaciation and beginning of the Holocene. In Britain the Mesolithic begins around 8700BC. It became warmer and the sea levels rose as glaciers melted. Vegetation changed new plants were able to grow. New animals which were more suited to woodland became common. Human populations grew to 8.5 million. This is because they were becoming more efficient at providing for their families by using a wide range of foods (broad spectrum adaptation). In the near east effects of the retreating ice were felt earlier so there is no period referred to as Mesolithic instead the period prior to the neolithic is called Epi-Palaeolithic. In the near east the Epi-Palaeolithic is divided into two parts, Epi-Palaeolithic I (18000-10000BC) and Epi-Palaeolithic II (10000-8500BC). Mesolithic tools are used in both these periods. The first period is populated by people known in the Levant as the Kebarans. (The Levant is the former name for the geographical area of the eastern Mediterranean which is now Lebanon, Syria and Israel). The tools of this period were much more specialised. The bow and arrow was invented around 13,000 BC and a wide range of very small tools (microlith) were used and mounted into wood. The Mesolithic in Scandinavia is divided into three parts: magelmose 7500BC-5700BC, konemose 5700BC-4000BC, ertebolle 4600BC-3200BC. Star Carr is one of the more famous sites of the early sites it was located near Scarborough next to a lake. The hunter gatherers who occupied the site built a raised wooden platform where they lived and worked. It was occupied between 8700-8350 BC although it cannot be interpreted as a permanent settlement. Many things were found at the site for example a wooden paddle, rolls or birch bark, antler masks, pins, animal bones, and many tools and flint artefacts. There are many different interpretations of the site some say it is a winter base camp while others say it is a summer camp. The Levant is divided up along the lines of its tool technologies; Starr Carr falls into the early phase. Later phases are more diverse and tend to geometric shapes i.e. triangles. In the later Mesolithic there is much evidence for costal sites for example Morton on Tay which was occupied in each year between 6000-4000 BC. The occupants ate a wide range of sea food and must have used boats but they also continued to hunt red deer. Oronsay is also an important costal site in Scotland. Evidence came from shell middens that the site was occupied seasonally for 800yrs. There is little evidence of gathering in the Mesolithic but at Colonsay a whole pit of hazelnuts was found this gives evidence that the people were forced into vegetarianism. In Devon at a site called Westward Ho a kitchen midden was found dating to 4635 +/- 130BC. The evidence suggests an environment dominated by oak, hazel and ivy. They ate sea food but also hunted land animals such as red deer and wild boar. The Mesolithic stretches between 10,000 and 6000 yrs ago. Burial in this period is characterised by a change from single and small group burials to larger cemeteries out in the open. No British examples of Mesolithic burials have been found with the exception of a disarticulated burial in a partially burnt longboat found at St. Albans. Red ochre was still important in Mesolithic burials as was shell and teeth ornaments and provisions of food and tools. The Neolithic THE Neolithic means ...