The Archaeology of Britain: An introduction from ... - waughfamily.ca

• 52 • Steven Mithen
may reflect the exhaustion of high-quality sources, perhaps due to increasing population, or their
inaccessibility due to rising sea-level or near-impenetrable vegetation. Alternatively, changes in
mobility patterns may have been the cause, as later Mesolithic foragers covered smaller distances
in the course of their activities and consequently had to rely on local, and poorer quality, raw
materials.
THE MESOLITHIC ECONOMY
The early Postglacial environments of Britain provided a diverse array of foodstuffs. Attempts at
gaining a comprehensive understanding of Mesolithic subsistence are fraught by problems of
poor preservation and difficulties of interpretation. There are sites that yield a detailed picture of
one aspect, such as hunting at Star Carr and coastal exploitation on Oronsay, but a regional series
of sites that provides an overall picture of subsistence is lacking.
Hunting terrestrial game
Star Carr alone has a substantial faunal assemblage and shows that five species were hunted. It is
probable that individuals were stalked in thick woodlands, although the possibility that animals
were driven into ambushes remains. Legge and Rowley-Conwy (1988) identified 26 red deer, 12
elk, 16 aurochs, 17 roe deer and four pigs in the excavated assemblage. Their relative proportions
seemingly reflect the selection of red deer by the hunters. Inferences can be made from bone
sizes about the ages of animals that were killed; most red deer were 3- to 4-year-old sub-adults,
while roe deer were rather younger when slaughtered. This difference may reflect their social
behaviour, particularly the ages at which young deer leave their mothers and consequently become
vulnerable to hunting. In the absence of comparable assemblages, it is unclear whether these
characteristics are reflections of the local environment or particular function of Star Carr, or
general features of the Mesolithic.
Legge and Rowley-Conwy also considered the time of year when Star Carr was occupied by
examining seasonal indicators, such as eruption patterns in roe deer mandibles, the crown heights
of red deer teeth and the presence of neonatal animals. All such indicators, which assume that
growth patterns and reproductive cycles for early Postglacial species and their modern counterparts
are comparable, suggest that occupation most probably occurred between May and September.
The skeletal parts of red deer represented closely match those of caribou typically found on
hunting camps of the Nunamiut in the Canadian Arctic, as opposed to those from their base
camps or kill sites. It is therefore proposed that Star Carr played this role in its settlement system,
though this conclusion depends, of course, on the relevance of the comparison. Major differences
between the Nunamiut and Early Mesolithic environments (tundra versus woodland) and
economies (caribou hunting as opposed to that of several species) may invalidate it.
Stalking large game is likely to have been pervasive throughout the British Mesolithic.
Expectations as to how this would vary in importance in different environments can be modelled,
but as yet cannot be tested with other substantial faunal evidence.
The exploitation of animals may have included something approaching management.
Palynological evidence shows that Mesolithic foragers fired vegetation, although whether
intentionally or accidentally (from uncontrolled campfires) is unclear. Modern Australian
Aborigines employ fire with the express aim of encouraging plant growth and attracting game.
Perhaps Mesolithic people acted similarly. At North Gill (North York Moors), a high-resolution
pollen sequence demonstrated that during the Late Mesolithic or Early Neolithic, the tree canopy
was opened by the removal of oak, willow and alder, allowing shrubs to flower much better.
Evidence for the use of fire is absent, and the decline of these species may indicate the acquisition