Overview
Malcolm Lillie presents a major new holistic appraisal of the evidence for the Mesolithic occupation of Wales. The story begins with a discourse on the Palaeolithic background. In order to set the entire Mesolithic period into its context, subsequent chapters follow a sequence from the palaeoenvironmental background, through a consideration of the use of stone tools, settlement patterning and evidence for subsistence strategies and the range of available resources. Less obvious aspects of hunter-forager and subsequent hunter-fisher-forager groups include the arenas of symbolism, ritual and spirituality that would have been embedded in everyday life. The author here endeavours to integrate an evaluation of these aspects of Mesolithic society in developing a social narrative of Mesolithic lifeways throughout the text in an effort to bring the past to life in a meaningful and considered way. The term ‘hunter-fisher-foragers’ implies a particular combination of subsistence activities, but whilst some groups may well have integrated this range of economic activities into their subsistence strategies, others may not have. The situation in coastal areas of Wales, in relation to subsistence, settlement and even spiritual matters would not necessarily be the same as in upland areas, even when the same groups moved between these zones in the landscape. The volume concludes with a discussion of the theoretical basis for the shift away from the exploitation of wild resources towards the integration of domesticates into subsistence strategies, i.e. the shift from food procurement to food production, and assesses the context of the changes that occurred as human groups re-orientated their socio-economic, political and ritual beliefs in light of newly available resources, influences from the continent, and ultimately their social condition at the time of ‘transition’.
Full Product Details
Author: Malcolm Lillie
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Dimensions:
Width: 21.70cm
, Height: 1.80cm
, Length: 27.50cm
Weight: 0.880kg
ISBN: 9781782979746
ISBN 10: 1782979743
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 30 November 2015
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.
Reviews
HUNTERS, FISHERS AND FORAGERS IN WALES. TOWARDS A SOCIAL NARRATIVE OF MESOLITHIC LIFEWAYS. By Malcolm Lillie. 170 x 241 mm. xxii + 345 pp. 57 illustrations. 7 tables. Oxbow Books, Oxford, 2015. ISBN 978 1 782979 74 6. Price GBP40.00. IRELAND'S FIRST SETTLERS. TIME AND THE MESOLITHIC. By Peter Woodman. 220 x 285 mm. ix + 366 pp. 345 illustrations. 17 tables. Oxbow Books, Oxford, 2015. ISBN 978 1 782977 78 0. Price GBP50.00. Prehistoric archaeologists of the mid to late nineteenth century considered that there were just two early periods, a Palaeolithic and a Neolithic. Attempts by Hodder M. Westropp and later writers to gain recognition for an additional period between these largely went unnoticed. It was not until the 1930s when Grahame Clark's work resulted in the recognition and definition of distinct sites and technologies that the Mesolithic period was accepted. Much of Clark's and others' early work focused on the regional distribution of the material evidence, particularly the lithic industries, and this work has been built on and developed since. Now, for two books presenting regional Mesolithic studies to be published by one company in the same year may be a sign that such research has reached a state of maturity. The two books reviewed here are written by Malcolm Lillie, Reader in Prehistoric Archaeology and Wetland Science at the University of Hull, and Peter Woodman, Emeritus Professor of Prehistory at the University College Cork. Both have written about their homelands-Lillie on Wales and Woodman on Ireland. The two books therefore share a common genesis; however, the approach adopted by each is very different. Lillie's book is titled to focus upon Wales, but its geographical scope is far wider than this suggests, for he cuts a swathe across Ireland, Wales, England, central, and particularly, eastern Europe. The book sets the scene by providing a very general and broad overview from the first humans in Britain to the early Holocene. He explores theories of coastal change and the different factors which have resulted in the British coastline being as it is. This chapter broadens out from its starting point of the Severn Estuary to draw on evidence from Doggerland and the North Sea Basin. Landscape and environmental themes are then tackled, detailing past vegetation by drawing on the evidence from cores taken across and off the shore of Wales. This section is very densely packed with great detail about each of the Welsh sampling sites and highlights the richness of the dating evidence that is available from these cores. The real purpose of this detail, however, is to examine the impact humans have had on the changing landscapes through woodland clearance and changes in biological diversity, not only across Wales, but also more broadly across the Mesolithic United Kingdom and Ireland. Further chapters examine the available dataset, which Lillie has chosen to approach by drawing his data directly from the Historic Environment Records and a generalized catalogue of finds in the National Museum of Wales. This is despite stating that it is necessary to study collections and evidence firsthand. Used alone these resources may not be reliable enough for such research. Consequently there are instances where the datasets are used too uncritically as, for example, Burry Holms where a hearth and fire-cracked stones have been found. However, both relate to the Iron Age use of the site, rather than to the underlying Mesolithic settlement. Ethnographic data are used to present theories including violence, theft, lack of rules in society, theories of persistent places in the landscape and spatial and locational factors that may have influenced Mesolithic subsistence and survival strategies. Lillie creates a narrative that examines the structures there may have been for social organization amongst Mesolithic groups by seeking to determine who was hunting, any symbolic activities undertaken before, during and after the hunt, and how the kill was later divided up amongst the group. Whilst it would be wonderful to know how the groups organized their lives, the reality is that we will never know the detail at this level, as the Mesolithic evidence available from Wales and beyond inevitably will be too ephemeral. A final chapter is devoted to the ritual aspects of life during the Mesolithic. This commences with detailed analysis of the actual evidence for skeletal remains in Wales and across Europe. The fact that in Britain, particularly in Wales, this is scanty, leads Lillie to examine the evidence from further afield to offer a complex picture of life and death in the Mesolithic. But the question arises, does one size fit all for the Mesolithic? How truly distinct were localized groups in Wales? By drawing so heavily on such a large geographical area and on ethnographical analogy the distinctions inevitably end up being broadbrush and would be challenged by Peter Woodman who uses his book to argue for more tightly focused local research. Woodman's book opens with a reflection on his fifty-year career working on Ireland's Mesolithic archaeology. He produces some astonishing facts, including that in 1970 fewer than 50 excavations were taking place across Ireland each year and the majority of these were research-led. In 2006 over 2,000 excavations took place, but fewer than ten of these were research, rather than development, led. This explosion in projects provides the foundation for the book which aims to present the state of Ireland's current evidence for earliest prehistory in detail, before asking where research should be taken from here. The early chapters present the background and examine the vegetation, faunal elements, dating evidence and the landscape of Ireland. Chapter three examines the history for an Irish Mesolithic in which the writer assesses and debunks the original myths of dating evidence one by one, concluding by warning of the dangers of failing to examine the evidence objectively. Woodman next considers the evidence for the Irish Mesolithic by looking at surface lithic collection sites, then at the evidence from excavated sites for structures, caves, underwater features and shell middens. He highlights how many new radiocarbon results dating a range of structures have enabled a chronology to be considers. However, whilst he shows that there are an impressive number of dates, the fact is that there are 'key' sites such as Mount Sandel which have been heavily dated and which consequently bias the results. Woodman continuously uses the evidence from his own observations of lithic artefact assemblages across Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom to demonstrate the distinct differences between sites. He concludes that the early Mesolithic of Ireland is very distinct from the later Mesolithic, not only in terms of the raw materials selected for use, but also in the tools made and used. Later he returns to question the evidence for, or the potential for there to be, a Palaeolithic in Ireland. By focusing on Ireland's first settlers it is relevant for him to explore the evidence for sites or finds of this age. However, he quickly dismisses them all, concluding that whilst it would not have been impossible for people to have reached Ireland the evidence remains to be found. Ireland's first settlers must have had sea-going technology for them to reach its shores from departure points that may have been south-west Scotland, the Isle of Man or south-west Wales. Once Ireland was settled, the evidence suggests that the population expanded quickly and technologies developed that, in the main, were distinct from these other regions. Woodman observes some spatial patterning but has difficulties defining territory boundaries from the evidence available for study. Instead, he suggests that there may be as many models as there are sites and the scanty evidence may be biased by local factors that necessitate consideration of the evidence at the local scale. In the final section of his book Woodman provides a critical analysis of fieldwork and the methodologies that have been deployed to investigate Irish Mesolithic sites. He points out that the 'super sites' such as Mount Sandel or Star Carr have come to be seen as typical. Instead, Woodman offers the contribution that many small sites can each provide a glimpse of Mesolithic settlement at a specific place and together these may be built up to present a bigger picture. He discusses the methodologies in use in rescue archaeology, making the valid point that the decision as to where an excavation will take place will be determined by the development rather than to tackle a research question aimed at progressing an understanding of aspects of Mesolithic settlement. In his final chapter he examines the evidence for the people. The absence of human remains in Ireland is examined, but he draws on ethnographic data and other evidence to present his theories about life, population and territory sizes. Woodman's final thoughts lie with the fact that historic attitudes to studies of Mesolithic Ireland have led to its perception today as marginal on the westernmost fringe of Europe. There is, however, no danger of these theories being perpetuated as Woodman demonstrates how thinking needs to be moved forward. To achieve this he believes that rather than considering the evidence elsewhere, it is necessary to focus on the fact that Ireland is distinct and to consider the local environment and research history at a local scale to develop new ideas based on the Irish evidence alone. The topics covered in both books are broadly the same, yet the two authors offer different ways of utilizing the evidence available from their areas of study. Both use ethnography to differing extents to present their theories about Mesolithic life. Woodman has taken a more reflective approach to the data and demonstrates in his conclusion that he has considered Ireland as a part of Europe, as well as an island, before concluding that study at the local scale is preferable. Lillie would disagree with this approach and instead argues that landscape patterning is the same across Europe with subsistence strategies homogenized across the continent. Whilst reading both books thoughts about myth-making came to mind. Woodman sets out to debunk the many myths that have crept into accepted literature over the past one hundred years to bring us back to a point where there can be new scrutiny of the available dataset and the application of new thought to it. His approach is focused on his own detailed examination of the collections and on the evidence. Indeed, whenever he does utilize other people's research he ensures that this is made clear in his discussion, leaving one in no doubt that had the opportunity been there he would have checked facts for himself. Lillie has relied heavily upon second-hand data-sets and consequently the inherent problems of the resources he has utilized are perpetuated here. Indeed there is the risk that he may be creating new myths in this work as the data-sets, if used uncritically, can lead to erroneous interpretations as highlighted above. Woodman states that he may be accused of being 'an old fashioned empiricist [... quibbling] with the complacency about the quality of evidence available and a belief that what we really need is better theories.' Lillie is reliant on the formulation of such theories to create the social narrative he presents, although, to be fair, in his epilogue he makes a clear statement about the difficulties of the evidence and the problems that there are in creating a narrative for the Mesolithic of Wales. However, as this is what he has just done it leaves a doubt that the narrative he presents is as secure as he makes it appear. In contrast, Woodman's confidence in his approach results in an easier read in which his distinctive Irish sense of humour occasionally slips out. This said, both books offer food for thought and reading them together highlights two different approaches, each in its own way offering a new contribution to our understanding of Mesolithic life in both Wales and Ireland. Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales Elizabeth A. Walker -- Archaeologia Cambrensis Archaeologia Cambrensis
Author Information
Malcolm Lillie is Reader in Prehistoric Archaeology and Wetland Science and Director of the Wetland Archaeology and Environment Research Centre at the University of Hull. He is a bio-archaeologist, researching into the study of the physico-chemical and biological characteristics of waterlogged burial environments, and has particular research interests in the British Mesolithic, the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition and the reconstruction of past lifeways in prehistory.
