british prehistory-an overview
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Some initial thoughts
The study of the material remains of human cultures”
Location Excavation and recovery Collection, classification, systemisation Description and analysis Overview Cultural theory Links with anthropology, history, sciences,
surveying
Archaeology
Notions of TimeBCbpBCE40 000 BC-43 ADArrival of H. sapiensDecline and extinction of Neanderthals
Introduction to British Prehistory
Emphasis on technology, and predominant material.
Covers huge time period and many types of culture
Stone AgeBronze AgeIron Age
The Three Age System
◦Vast time frame◦Palaeolithic:LowerMiddleUpper
◦Mesolithic◦Neolithic
“Stone Age”
Evidence Sites Artefact Assemblage Culture Social organisation Approaches:
◦ Traditional ◦ Theory-based, eg sociological approaches to
examining human culture
Terminology
"What defines human life and society?", "How are social relations among humans
organised?", Kinship, Exchange, Trade, Conflict "Who are the ancestors of modern Homo
sapiens?" "How has the evolutionary past of Homo
sapiens influenced its social organization and culture?"
Theoretical approaches-Marxism, Functionalism, Structuralism
Anthropology
Cultures and Technology
"Boxgrove is simply one of the great Early Palaeolithic/Middle Pleistocene sites in the world, this statement has nothing to do with ego or anything else personal to myself - it just is. The quality of preservation, the range and depth of its myriad lines of multidisciplinary evidence are beyond nearly all other sites."
Cresswell caves contain occupation layers with evidence of flint tools from various Palaeolithic cultures. They were seasonally occupied by nomadic groups of people during the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods.
• Upper Palaeolithic archaeological settlement and cemetery located on the Great Russian Plain outside of Vladimir, Russia
• human burials and occupations dated between 20,000 and 28,000 years ago.
The site included house structures, hearths, storage pits, tool production areas.
• It served as a grave for seven individuals: the remains of an older man and two children are particularly well-preserved
• the nature of the rich and extensive burial goods suggests they belonged to the same class.
• Grave goods found in the Sungir burials include thousands of ivory beads, bracelets, and pendants, as well as delicate sculptures of a horse and mammoth.
The head and chest were decorated with many ivory beads, originally sewn onto cloth. Notice the mammoth-ivory bracelets on his arms, and the remains of the beaded cap on his head.
During an excavation in 1986, a well-preserved triple burial was unearthed. Remains of three individuals, one female and two males, were found. The bodies were laying in an extended supine position, covered by burnt spruce logs and branches. The female in the middle was placed first, being partially covered by the other two. The two males were laid beside the female in different positions. One was faced down and the other on his side with hands reaching the pubic region of the female. The heads of all three were covered with red ochre, the female also having red ochre around her pubis. All three individuals are, interestingly, theorized to be related based on three rare traits: unilateral absence of the frontal sinus, specific auditory exostoses, and impaction of the upper wisdom teeth.
Dolní Věstonice
26 000 bcArtCarved figuresHuman burials-eg female skeleton and triple burial
One of the burials, located near the huts, revealed a human female skeleton aged to 40+ years old placed beneath a pair of mammoth scapulae, one leaning against the other.left side of the skull was disfigured in the same manner as a carved ivory figure found on the site: was the figure was an intentional depiction of this specific individual?The bones and the earth surrounding the body contained traces of red ochre, flint spearhead had been placed near the skull, one hand held the body of a fox.
During an excavation in 1986, a well-preserved triple burial was unearthed. Remains of three individuals, one female and two males, were found. The bodies were laying in an extended supine position, covered by burnt spruce logs and branches. The female in the middle was placed first, being partially covered by the other two. The two males were laid beside the female in different positions. One was faced down and the other on his side with hands reaching the pubic region of the female. The heads of all three were covered with red ochre, the female also having red ochre around her pubis. All three individuals are, interestingly, theorized to be related based on three rare traits: unilateral absence of the frontal sinus, specific auditory exostoses, and impaction of the upper wisdom teeth.
Aurignacian culture
Upper Palaeolithic 40 000BC
Periods named after sites (usually caves) in France
Chronology of “Cave technology”
Mousterian- crude flint implements Solutrean- refined flint working Magdalenian- bone implements
Palaeolithic cave sites
Technology
Early figurative art-function?
Gravettian culture Big Game Hunting Bison Horse Mammoth
Upper Palaeolithic-28 000 BC
Scale drawing of burin (chisel)
Upper Palaeolithic-19 000 BC
Solutrean flints
“The Age of the Reindeer -Magdalenian
