Misplaced Pages

#579420

54-640: Epipalaeolithic Near East Caucasus Zagros Star Carr is a Mesolithic archaeological site in North Yorkshire , England. It is around five miles (8 km) south of Scarborough . It is generally regarded as the most important and informative Mesolithic site in Great Britain . It is as important to the Mesolithic period as Stonehenge is to the Neolithic period or Scandinavian York

108-611: A siege . Various American Indian tribes used hides in the construction of tepees and wigwams , moccasins , and buckskins . They were sometimes used as window coverings. Until the invention of plastic drum heads in the 1950s, animal hides or metal was used. Parchment and vellum —a kind of paper made from processed skins—was introduced to the Eastern Mediterranean during the Iron Age , supposedly at Pergamon . The Assize of Weights and Measures —one of

162-569: A decorated pendant , thought to be the oldest known Mesolithic art in Britain and tightly-rolled pieces of birch-bark and pieces of birch-resin pitch or tar and worked wood. The flint found at Star Carr came from nearby beaches, which at time of occupation would have been about 10 to 20 km (6 to 12 mi) distant, and also from the Yorkshire Wolds immediately to the south of the site. The two most outstanding categories of finds are

216-555: A period of transition. The Levant became more arid and the forest vegetation retreated, to be replaced by steppe . The cool and dry period ended at the beginning of Mesolithic 1. The hunter-gatherers of the Aurignacian would have had to modify their way of living and their pattern of settlement to adapt to the changing conditions. The crystallization of these new patterns resulted in Mesolithic 1. The people developed new types of settlements and new stone industries. The inhabitants of

270-511: A small Mesolithic 1 site in the Levant left little more than their chipped stone tools behind. The industry was of small tools made of bladelets struck off single-platform cores. Besides bladelets, burins and end- scrapers have been found. A few bone tools and some ground stones have also been found. These so-called Mesolithic sites of Asia are far less numerous than those of the Neolithic, and

324-534: A use-life of between 200 and 500 years. The structure has been compared to the Mesolithic structure found at Howick , Northumberland and British Iron Age roundhouses . A large wooden platform has been discovered nearby on the shore of the former lake – the earliest known example of carpentry in Europe, though its purpose is as yet unknown. Timbers of Aspen and Willow were split along the grain using wedges (probably made of wood and antler); these were then laid in

378-830: Is also called the Natufian culture . This period is characterized by the early rise of agriculture , which later emerged more fully in the Neolithic period. Radiocarbon dating places the Natufian culture between 12,500 and 9500 BCE, just before the end of the Pleistocene . This period is characterised by the beginning of agriculture. The Natufian culture is commonly split into two subperiods: Early Natufian (12,500–10,800 BCE) (Christopher Delage gives c. 13,000–11,500 BP uncalibrated, equivalent to c. 13,700–11,500 BCE) and Late Natufian (10,800–9500 BCE). The Late Natufian most likely occurred in tandem with

432-536: Is impossible to know the form or materials from which the walls and/or roof would have been made. They may have used hides , thatch , turf or bark on a conical ( teepee -like) or rounded ( wigwam -like) frame. There is no reason to suppose that the same materials and form would have been used for the structure's entire life-span. There was evidence that the floor was covered with a layer of moss, reeds and other soft plant materials 20 centimetres (7.9 in)–30 centimetres (12 in) deep. Radiocarbon dates indicated

486-421: Is now often synthetic. "Hides" is used as a slang term to refer to a drumset. Kangaroo leather is the most common material for the construction of bullwhips . Stingray rawhide is a common material for the grips of Chinese , Japanese , and Scottish swords . Pig skins are processed as pork rinds . Rabbit fur is popular for hats, coats, and glove linings. Animal rights activists generally protest

540-428: Is preserved due to Lake Flixton having been in-filled with peat during the course of the Mesolithic. Waterlogged peat prevents organic finds from oxidising and has led to some of the best preservation conditions possible (such conditions have preserved the famous bog bodies found in other parts of northern Europe). As a result of such good conditions archaeologists were able to recover bone, antler and wood in addition to

594-718: Is to understanding Viking Age Britain. The site was occupied during the early Mesolithic archaeological period, which coincided with the preboreal and boreal climatic periods. Though the ice age had ended and temperatures were close to modern averages, sea levels had not yet risen sufficiently to separate Britain from continental Europe . Highlights among the finds include Britain's oldest structure, 21 red deer stag skull-caps that may have been headdresses and nearly 200 projectile, or harpoon, points made of red deer antler . These organic materials were preserved due to having been buried in waterlogged peat . Normally all that remains on Mesolithic sites are stone tools . Excavation of

SECTION 10

#1732773320580

648-858: The Kebaran culture, c. 20,000 to 14,500 years ago, the Middle Epipalaeolithic is the Geometric Kebaran or late phase of the Kebaran , and the Late Epipalaeolithic to the Natufian , 14,500–11,500 BP. The Natufian overlaps with the incipient Neolithic Revolution , the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A . The Early Epipalaeolithic, also known as Kebaran , lasted from 20,000 to 12,150 BP. It followed

702-791: The Epipalaeolithic ("Final Old Stone Age", also known as Mesolithic ) in the prehistory of the Near East . It is the period after the Upper Palaeolithic and before the Neolithic , between approximately 20,000 and 10,000 years Before Present (BP). The people of the Epipalaeolithic were nomadic hunter-gatherers who generally lived in small, seasonal camps rather than permanent villages. They made sophisticated stone tools using microliths —small, finely-produced blades that were hafted in wooden implements. These are

756-418: The Epipalaeolithic . The appearance of the Kebaran culture, of microlithic type, implies a significant rupture in the cultural continuity of Levantine Upper Paleolithic. The Kebaran culture, with its use of microliths, is associated also with the use of the bow and arrow and the domestication of the dog. The Kebaran is also characterised by the earliest collecting and processing of wild cereals, known due to

810-455: The Geometric Kebaran , a Levantine industry associated with the Middle Epipalaeolithic. The excavators of the site, therefore, proposed that northern Arabia was colonised by foragers from the Levant around 15,000 years ago. These groups may then have been cut off by the drying climate and retreated to refugia like the Jubbah palaeolake. The Epipalaeolithic is best understood when discussing

864-502: The Natufian , and 12,000 years before the establishment of sedentary farming communities in the Near East during the Neolithic Revolution . Furthermore, the new finds accord well with evidence for the earliest ever cereal cultivation at the site, and for the use of stone-made grinding implements. Evidence for symbolic behavior of Late Pleistocene foragers in the Levant has been found in engraved limestone plaquettes from

918-596: The New Hertford River was to the south of Star Carr Farm. Moore decided to excavate a small trench at Star Carr in 1948 as part of a series of investigations. On the discovery of intact organic remains Moore contacted Professor Grahame Clark of the University of Cambridge via Harry Godwin and the curator of the Scarborough Museum , Arthur Roy Clapham . Clark began his investigation with

972-613: The Younger Dryas . The following period is often called the Pre-Pottery Neolithic . Fertile Crescent : Europe : Africa : Siberia : Until recently, it was thought that the Arabian Peninsula was too arid and inhospitable for human settlement in the Late Pleistocene. The earliest known sites belonged to the early Neolithic, c. 9000 to 8000 BP, and it was supposed that people were able to recolonise

1026-477: The pandeiro , continue to be made using natural skins. The alligator drum was formerly important in Chinese music . The Chinese sanxian and Okinawan sanshin are usually prepared from snakeskin , while their Japanese equivalent, the shamisen , is made from dogskin in the case of students and catskin in the case of professional players. The African-American banjo was originally made from skins but

1080-483: The statutes of uncertain date from c.  1300 —mentions rawhide , gloves , parchment , and vellum among the principal items of England 's commerce. A standardized shipload of leather (a last ) consisted of 20 dicker of 10 cowhides. Rabbit and squirrel skins were traded and taxed in timbers of 40 hides each. Skins were also traded in binds of 32 or 33 skins each, while gloves were sold in dickers of 10 pair and dozens of 12 pair. The parchment and vellum

1134-525: The 'barbed points' and ' antler frontlets '. The barbed points are made of the antler of red deer stags. They are between 8 centimetres (3.1 in) and 38 centimetres (15 in) in length and the 195 examples found at Star Carr account for more than 95% of the total number from the British Mesolithic. Many of the barbed points and antler frontlets appear to be deliberately broken. The antler frontlets are made from red deer stag (male) skulls with

SECTION 20

#1732773320580

1188-584: The Epipalaeolithic open-air site Ein Qashish South in the Jezreel Valley, Palestine. The engravings were uncovered in Kebaran and Geometric Kebaran deposits (ca. 23,000 and ca. 16,500 BP), and include the image of a bird, the first figurative representation known so far from a pre-Natufian Epipalaeolithic site, together with geometric motifs such as chevrons, cross-hatchings, and ladders. Some of

1242-614: The Upper Paleolithic Levantine Aurignacian (formerly called Antelian ) period throughout the Levant. By the end of the Levantine Aurignacian, gradual changes took place in stone industries. Small stone tools called microliths and retouched bladelets can be found for the first time. The microliths of this culture period differ markedly from the Aurignacian artifacts. By 18,000 BP the climate and environment had changed, starting

1296-399: The antler frontlets were used as a hunting disguise, or in some form of ritual practice. Recent work suggests that these, along with other objects made from red deer antler, appear to have been respectfully deposited at the lake edge due to the spiritual significance of red deer to the people who occupied the site. Anthony Legge and Peter Rowley-Conway re-examined the animal bones located at

1350-428: The antlers still attached. The 21 antler frontlets are sufficiently complete to see how they have been manufactured: two holes were perforated through the skull with a flint tool and the inside of the skull cap was smoothed. The antlers on each frontlet have been carefully trimmed, perhaps to reduce weight. It seems very likely that these modifications are designed to allow the frontlets to be used as headgear. Finds from

1404-558: The archeological remains are very poor. The type site is Kebara Cave south of Haifa . The Kebaran was characterized by small, geometric microliths . The people were thought to lack the specialized grinders and pounders found in later Near Eastern cultures. The Kebaran is preceded by the Athlitian phase of the Levantine Aurignacian (formerly called Antelian ) and followed by the proto-agrarian Natufian culture of

1458-621: The base of a complex food web . The mammals that we have evidence for include herbivores such as beaver , red deer, roe deer , elk , aurochs , wild boar , hare and carnivores such as wolf , lynx , bear , fox , pine marten , badger and hedgehog . Current radiocarbon dates from the site indicate occupation first commenced between 9335 and 9275 BC, lasting for a period of around 800 years until 8525–8440 BC. However, such occupations may have been episodic in nature, varying in intensity between different periods. A human-made structure approximately 3.5 metres (11 ft) wide

1512-483: The boggy areas at the lake shore, presumably to provide firm footing. The extent of the wooden platform is not known but it may be a significantly larger and more complex undertaking than the house-like structure. Along with the flints that are characteristic of Mesolithic sites, there were a large number of objects made of red deer and elk antler, elk bone, aurochs bone and one piece of bird bone. Rarer objects included worked amber , shale , haematite , iron pyrites ,

1566-525: The coast, the rather small number of seashells found (7 genera) and the piercing of many, suggests these may have been collected as ornaments rather than food. However, the period seems to be marked by an increase in plant foods and a decrease in meat-eating. Over 40 plant species have been found by analysing one site in the Jordan Valley , and some grains were processed and baked. Stones with evidence of grinding have been found. These were most likely

1620-442: The dry land upslope of the lake and various activities were carried out at the lake edge. There is much debate about the time of year the site was occupied. Mesolithic people hunted a number of animals including red and roe deer, elk, aurochs and wild boar but there are various seasonal assessments and as the site was occupied over several hundred years it is likely that seasonal practices varied over time. It has been suggested that

1674-541: The eastern end of the Vale of Pickering . During the Mesolithic the site was near the outflow at the western end of a palaeolake, known as Lake Flixton . At the end of the last ice age a combination of glacial and post-glacial geomorphology caused the area to drain to the west (away from the shortest-distance to the North Sea at Filey ). The basin filled by Lake Flixton was probably created by glacial 'scarring'. The site

Star Carr - Misplaced Pages Continue

1728-469: The engravings closely resemble roughly contemporary European finds, and may be interpreted as "systems of notations" or "artificial memory systems" related to the timing of seasonal resources and related important events for nomadic groups. Similar-looking signs and patterns are well known from the context of the local Natufian , a final Epipalaeolithic period when sedentary or semi-sedentary foragers started practicing agriculture. The Late Epipalaeolithic

1782-535: The entirety of the site and believed Star Carr could be used as a type-site for the British Mesolithic. He drew parallels between the finds at Star Carr and the site of Maglemose in Denmark. It is now recognised that many of Clark's inferences were incorrect but the excavation remains one of the most important in the study of British prehistory ever undertaken. In 1977 archaeologists excavated Iron Age , Bronze Age and Mesolithic material from Seamer Carr, just to

1836-444: The excavation of grain-grinding tools. This was the first step towards the Neolithic Revolution . The Kebaran people are believed to have migrated seasonally, dispersing to upland environments in the summer, and gathering in caves and rock shelters near lowland lakes in the winter. This diversity of environments may be the reason for the variety of tools found in their toolkits. The Kebaran is generally thought to have been ancestral to

1890-416: The explicit aim of building a more detailed picture of the Mesolithic environment and the ways in which people used it. The organic preservation enabled the recovery of the plant and animal remains necessary for this. Clark excavated from 1949 to 1951. Clark's 1954 publication of these excavations is a seminal text in the study of the British Mesolithic and prehistory generally. Clark believed he had uncovered

1944-439: The flints that are normally all that is left on sites from this period. During the period of Mesolithic occupation the area surrounding the lake would have been a mixed forest of birch , aspen and willow . The lake edge and shallows would have been full of reeds, water lily and other aquatic plants and lake levels would have changed dynamically in response to rainfall or snow-melt. These and many other plants would have formed

1998-657: The gradual retreat of glacial climatic conditions between the Last Glacial Maximum and the start of the Holocene , and it is characterised by population growth and economic intensification. The Epipalaeolithic ended with the " Neolithic Revolution " and the onset of domestication , food production , and sedentism , although archaeologists now recognise that these trends began in the Epipalaeolithic. The period may be subdivided into Early, Middle and Late Epipalaeolithic: The Early Epipalaeolithic corresponds to

2052-629: The initial exploration of North America , particularly in Canada , and even prompted wars among native tribes competing for the most productive areas. Natural leather continues to be used for many expensive products from limousine upholstery to designer cellular phone cases. There are, however, many forms of artificial leather and fur now available, which are usually cheaper alternatives. Animal hides and skins are usually processed fresh or salted and tanned. Skins sometimes are stretched, dried, and tanned. Most hides are processed from domesticated animals;

2106-606: The last few years. A decorated pendant (the Star Carr Pendant ), thought to be the oldest known Mesolithic art in Britain, was found at the site in 2015. The 11,000 year old object has been on display at the Yorkshire Museum with other finds from the site since 2016. Clark, the original excavator, believed the Mesolithic people would have lived on a brushwood platform on the edge of the former Lake Flixton. Recent excavations have revealed that people lived on

2160-671: The later Natufian culture that occupied much of the same range. The earliest evidence for the use of composite cereal harvesting tools are the glossed flint blades that have been found at the site of Ohalo II , a 23,000-year-old fisher-hunter-gatherers’ camp on the shore of the Sea of Galilee , Northern Palestine. The Ohalo site is dated at the junction of the Upper Paleolithic and the Early Epipalaeolithic, and has been attributed to both periods. The wear traces on

2214-783: The main food sources throughout the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A, which introduced the widespread agricultural growing of crops. Hide (skin) The term "skin" is sometimes expanded to include furs , which are harvested from various species, including cats , mustelids , and bears . Archaeologists believe that animal hides provided an important source of clothing and shelter for all prehistoric humans and their use continued among non-agricultural societies into modern times. The Inuit , for example, used animal hides for summer tents , waterproof clothes, and kayaks . In early medieval ages hides were used to protect wooden castles and defense buildings from setting alight during

Star Carr - Misplaced Pages Continue

2268-468: The most common wild animals used for fur — mink and rabbit —are similarly raised in captivity and farmed. Some others—including lynx and wolves —are still trapped in the wild for their fur. Currently, hides are mainly used for footwear , upholstery , leather goods; skins are used for clothing , particularly as coats , gloves , leather goods and footwear . It is also used for bookbinding . Many traditional drums , especially hand drums like

2322-542: The north of Star Carr. These excavations were conducted in advance of the Seamer Carr landfill site. The discovery of Mesolithic material led to a new series of investigations around Lake Flixton directed by Tim Schadla-Hall (currently University College London ). This team returned to Star Carr in 1985 and 1989. This project investigated the archaeology and ecology of the wider landscape around Lake Flixton and found several more Mesolithic sites but none with as many of

2376-427: The primary artifacts by which archaeologists recognise and classify Epipalaeolithic sites. The start of the Epipalaeolithic is defined by the appearance of microliths. Although this is an arbitrary boundary, the Epipalaeolithic does differ significantly from the preceding Upper Palaeolithic. Epipalaeolithic sites are more numerous, better preserved, and can be accurately radiocarbon dated . The period coincides with

2430-476: The region then due to the wetter climate of the early Holocene. However, in 2014, archaeologists working in the southern Nefud desert discovered an Epipalaeolithic site dating to between 12,000 and 10,000 BP. The site is located in the Jubbah basin, a palaeolake which retained water in the otherwise dry conditions of the Terminal Pleistocene. The stone tools found bore a close resemblance to

2484-539: The site are now divided between four institutions: The British Museum , the Yorkshire Museum in York, the University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at Cambridge and the Scarborough Museum . Star Carr was discovered in 1947 when John Moore, an amateur archaeologist, noticed flints in the exposed soil of several recently dredged ditches in the eastern Vale of Pickering. One of these sites, bordering on

2538-431: The site began in 1948, a year after artefacts were first noticed by John Moore, an amateur archaeologist. The site is most famous for some of the extremely rare artefacts discovered during the original excavations but its importance has been reinforced by new understandings of the nature and extent of the Mesolithic archaeology in the area and reinterpretations of the original material. Star Carr now lies under farmland at

2592-463: The site. They found strong evidence to suggest that the site was used only in late spring and summer; evidence that the cull of red and roe deer was biased towards three- and one-year-old animals respectively; revision of available meat; reduction in scale of occupation; no bias towards hunting of male red deer, and tentatively suggested that the site was used as a hunting camp. Epipalaeolithic Near East The Epipalaeolithic Near East designates

2646-525: The southern Levant , as the period is well documented due to good preservation at the sites, at least of animal remains. The most prevalent animal food sources in the Levant during this period were: deer, gazelle, and ibex of various species, and smaller animals including birds, lizards, foxes, tortoises, and hares. Less common were aurochs , wild equids , wild boar, wild cattle, and hartebeest . At Neve David near Haifa , 15 mammal species were found, and two reptile species. Despite then being very close to

2700-412: The structure. Most significantly, recent geochemical investigations have demonstrated that the preservation conditions have deteriorated. The result of this is that any remaining organic artefacts will be far less informative than those discovered by previous excavation projects. Though the reasons for this remain somewhat unclear, it appears that the acidity of the groundwater has massively increased in

2754-404: The tools indicate that these were used for harvesting near-ripe, semi-green wild cereals, shortly before grains ripen enough to disperse naturally. The study shows that the tools were not used intensively, and they reflect two harvesting modes: flint knives held by hand and inserts hafted into a handle. The finds reveal the existence of cereal harvesting techniques and tools some 8,000 years before

SECTION 50

#1732773320580

2808-421: The unusual artefacts (such as barbed points and antler frontlets) discovered at Star Carr. In the 2000s new excavations began at Star Carr. This reinvestigation is being directed by Nicky Milner ( University of York ), Chantal Conneller ( University of Manchester ) and Barry Taylor ( University of Chester ). This ongoing project has reinvestigated Clark's excavations and also excavated the dry-land, discovering

2862-400: Was present: a hut or substantial shelter. This is known from excavated post holes, a sunken area and concentrations of flints, burning and other artefacts. The posts were almost certainly made of wood and roughly 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in diameter. There may have been as many as 18 of them and the holes indicated that several may have been replaced over the course of the structure's use. It

2916-415: Was traded based on dozens of the original sheepskins from which they were prepared. Rare furs have been a notable status symbol throughout history. Ermine fur was particularly associated with European nobility, with the black-tipped tails arranged around the edges of the robes to produce a pattern of black diamonds on a white field. Demand for beaver hats in the 17th and 18th century drove some of

#579420