The Border of Farming and the Cultural Markers - Nordlige Verdener

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Fig. 11:
Knive workshop
at eastern
dyke,
Midfield.
Photo: Gabriel
Cooney
focus of the project. Understanding discrete
activity areas will facilitate analysis
and interpretation of other areas of
the quarry complex which have a palimpsest
character and the wider role of
felsite artifacts in Neolithic Shetland.
Key objectives of the project are the detailed
survey, mapping and characterisation
of the quarry complex. This will
be combined with an analysis of museum
collections. A project GIS (Geographical
Information Systems) is being developed
and is seen as essential for the
effective and accurate survey of the
quarry complex. The multi-scalar and reflexive
character of the GIS means that
it can facilitate research at differing
scales and assist in research design.
As mentioned above the aim of the project
is to understand the role of this distinctive
local island stone source – felsite,
which Neolithic people physically and
culturally transformed into axeheads and
the highly distinctive Shetland knives. It is
recognized that Shetland is the northernmost
part of Europe where farming was
practiced during the Neolithic (3800-
2500 cal BC). In the archipelago there is
widespread evidence of the stone houses,
settlements, field systems and tombs that
early farmers built and used. The quarrying,
production and use of felsite objects
from North Roe provides an opportunity
to explore the links between these
different nodes of Neolithic activity and to
understand how felsite quarrying formed
part of Neolithic society in Shetland.
Nordlige Verdener
Shetlandsprojekt