Lithic and raw material variability in the Mesolithic of the Western Isles : contextualising 'the hybrid industries of the Western seaboard'
This thesis assesses the lithic technology of the recently established Mesolithic of the Western Isles of Scotland, and how this technology fits into the occupation of these new sites. Moreover, it addresses whether the Western Isles sites are representative of the Scottish Mesolithic and how they fit within the Mesolithic of the north-east Atlantic faĂ§ade. Extensive investigations into the Mesolithic of western Scotland and the Inner Hebrides have revealed widespread coastal occupation, however, large areas are still devoid of such evidence. Until recently the Western Isles were one such instance, despite long-held assertions of anthropogenic vegetation disturbance inferred from pollen diagrams. The lithic assemblages analysed in this thesis represent the first definitive evidence for Mesolithic occupation in this region. These are contextualised within the current understanding of the Mesolithic in Scotland and its closest Atlantic neighbours â Ireland and Norway. The assemblages demonstrate that locally available quartz was expediently worked to produce informal flake-based technology. Small quantities of flint were heavily curated and may have been imported from distant sources. This fits within a broad
Piper, Stephanie Frances
Lithic and raw material variability in the Mesolithic of the Western Isles : contextualising 'the hybrid industries of the Western seaboard'. This thesis assesses the lithic technology of the recently established Mesolithic of the Western Isles of Scotland, and how this technology fits into the occupation of these new sites. Moreover, it addresses whether the Western Isles sites are representative of the Scottish Mesolithic and how they fit within the Mesolithic of the north-east Atlantic faĂ§ade. Extensive investigations into the Mesolithic of western Scotland and the Inner Hebrides have revealed widespread coastal occupation, however, large areas are still devoid of such evidence. Until recently the Western Isles were one such instance, despite long-held assertions of anthropogenic vegetation disturbance inferred from pollen diagrams. The lithic assemblages analysed in this thesis represent the first definitive evidence for Mesolithic occupation in this region. These are contextualised within the current understanding of the Mesolithic in Scotland and its closest Atlantic neighbours â Ireland and Norway. The assemblages demonstrate that locally available quartz was expediently worked to produce informal flake-based technology. Small quantities of flint were heavily curated and may have been imported from distant sources. This fits within a broad
lithic raw_material variability mesolithic western_isles contextualising the hybrid industry western seaboard ass lithic_technology recently establish mesolithic western_isles scotland technology fit occupation new site moreover address_whether western_isles sit representative scottish mesolithic fit within mesolithic north_east atlantic extensive investigation mesolithic western scotland inner_hebrides reveal widespread coastal occupation however large area still devoid evidence recently western_isles instance despite long_held assertion anthropogenic vegetation disturbance infer pollen diagram lithic_assemblage analyse represent_first definitive evidence mesolithic occupation region contextualised_within current mesolithic scotland close atlantic neighbours ireland norway assemblages locally available work produce informal flake based technology small quantity flint heavily curated may import distant source fit within_broad