Mesolithic Assemblage Research Articles

Wolfgang Taute’s Excavation at the Open-Air Site Feuersteinacker and the Early Mesolithic in the Western Part of Central Germany

ABSTRACT Surveys near the village of Stumpertenrod revealed one of the largest Mesolithic assemblages in Germany. As a consequence of agricultural activities, the archaeological layers were partly eroded and the lithic artifact consisted mainly of surface finds. Between 1964 and 1966 Wolfgang Taute – a key-figure for the study of the Mesolithic in Europe – opened a trial-trench. Due to a lack of organic material, the campaign did not lead to the expected outcome and the site slowly fell into oblivion. The following article presents the results of typo-technological analyses of the lithic assemblage discovered in the course of the excavation. It provides new insights into the subsistence strategies of people during the early Holocene and re-integrates this significant site in current frameworks and debates. Furthermore, an interregional comparison of archaeological features and topographic parameters involving modern theoretical and methodological approaches, leads to a better understanding of the Early Mesolithic in the western part of Central Germany.

Palaeolithic and Mesolithic assemblages from Tunisia

With the following short review, we would like to remember our departed German friend and archaeologist Peter Nierling. He conducted several field trips in North Africa, Algeria, Lybia, and Tunisia, and on two occasions, in 1997 and 1998, one of us (A. P.) accompanied him. During these travels, field surveys were carried out mainly in the region of Gafsa. In the wider vicinity of the classical Paleolithic/Mesolithic sites of El Mekta (de Gafsa) and Lalla (de Gafsa), several unknown archaeological sites and find spots were localized. After these trips, one of the authors (A. P.) received a relatively great assemblage of various content from Peter Nierling to enrich the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic collections of the Hungarian stone tool research. Although the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic of North Africa is not our specialization, below we give a brief review of the assemblages.

Exploring the composition of lithic assemblages in Mesolithic South-Eastern Norway

This paper leverages multivariate statistics to explore the composition of 54 Mesolithic assemblages located in south-eastern Norway. To provide analytical control pertaining to factors such as variable excavation practices, systems for artefact categorisation and raw-material availability, the sites chosen for analysis have all been excavated relatively recently and have a constrained geographical distribution. The assemblages were explored following two strains of analysis. The first of these entailed the use of artefact categories that are in established use within Norwegian Mesolithic archaeology, while the other involved drawing on measures that have been linked directly to land-use and mobility patterns associated with lithic assemblages more widely. The findings pertaining to the established artefact categories largely reflect the temporal development previously reported in Norwegian Mesolithic research. Furthermore, the chronological trends associated with variables taken from the so-called Whole Assemblage Behavioural Indicators (e.g. Clark and Barton, 2017), originally devised for characterising Palaeolithic assemblages in terms of associated mobility patterns, also align with the development previously proposed in the literature. This provides an initial indication that these measures are applicable in a Norwegian Mesolithic setting as well, setting the stage for a more targeted and rigorous model evaluation outside this exploratory setting. Furthermore, this finding supports the notion that these measures can offer a powerful comparative tool in the analysis of lithic assemblages more generally.

The social origin of open-hearth structures in Mesolithic. A case study of the habitation “A” at site Paliwodzizna 29 (central Poland)

The subject of the research described in this article is a collection of flint artefacts obtained in the course of an exploration of one of the Mesolithic assemblages from site 29 in Paliwodzizna in Central Poland. The artefacts were subjected to a typological-technological analysis, a use-wear analysis and multi-faceted spatial analyses. As a result of the studies it was concluded that the collection might be affiliated with the Komornica culture and dated to the Atlantic period, which was confirmed by radiocarbon dating. The functional structure of the collection and the spatial organisation of the camp indicate that it was a hunting camp briefly used by a small group of people. The structure was compared with other camps of similar function from the region and the type of mobility of the hunter-gatherer groups that were using the site was considered.

Bramka Rockshelter: An Early Mesolithic cave site in Polish Jura

Although multiple Mesolithic cave sites have been recognised in Europe, the use of such sites by Early Holocene hunter gatherers was extremely scarce north of the Carpathians. Single Mesolithic artefacts have been found thus far only in six cave sites in Poland. The rich Early Mesolithic assemblage found in Bramka Rockshelter in southern Poland seems to be quite extraordinary in such a context. The site was excavated over 50 years ago, but the results have never been published or analysed beyond a short mention of child burial found in the Mesolithic context. The paper presents new radiocarbon dates obtained for the Mesolithic occupation and the child burial, showing the Early Holocene chronology of the Komornician assemblage and the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age chronology of the burial. The assemblage's techno-typological analysis allowed us to identify six human occupation phases at the site, with the most intensive phase connected to the Mesolithic. Comparative analyses of other Mesolithic assemblages from the region, together with an extremely high percentage of debitage found in the Bramka Rockshelter assemblage, allow us to discuss the possibility of identifying the site as a knapping workshop located in the vicinity of Jurassic flint outcrops.

Potential raw material sources for the production of lithic artefacts in western Central Europe – GIS-data for the Rhineland, Westphalia, and the Benelux countries

Since July 2013, the project D4 of the Collaborative Research Centre 806 at the University of Cologne has dealt with the Mesolithic in western Germany. During the first phase of this research, the primary tasks were to establish a regional chronology for the Middle Stone Age on the one hand, and the mapping of all known sites in the Rhineland and Westphalia regarding the different Mesolithic phases on the other. Since July 2017, the project has focused on mobility, cultural exchange, and human-environment interactions during the Final Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic in Central Europe. Due to the poor conditions of preservation, numerous Palaeolithic and Mesolithic assemblages only contain lithic artefacts. Communication networks and mobility patterns of the hunter-gatherer groups can be deduced from the raw material of these finds for a considerable number of sites. Apart from pottery, lithic artefacts and their resources also illustrate the social and economic networks during the Neolithic. The raw material of knapped artefacts and their potential geological sources offer important information relating to the project's goals.A map of the potential raw material sources for knapped artefacts in comparison with the archaeological finds is the basis for any suggestion about mobility patterns and communication networks. In general, information on geological lithic sources and the archaeological inventories in western Central Europe is far more detailed than for other regions. These data and all the information gathered on lithic raw material sources for western Germany and the Benelux countries allow us to provide a GIS-database using the software QGIS in the form of several maps and data tables with geological and archaeological information as well as detailed descriptions and references.One important result of this paper addresses the reconstruction of lithic raw material catchment areas. Three examples from younger Mesolithic sites show that the more precise petrographic method for identifying lithic raw materials results in much larger catchment areas than traditional macroscopic identification, leading to new considerations for estimating population densities during the later Middle Stone Age.

Mellommesolittisk flekketeknologi i Trøndelag og Nordland

This article presents results from dynamic-technological classifications of nine Middle Mesolithic assemblages from Trøndelag and Nordland. The area has until now, with the exception of Foldsjøen, been devoid of research on the spread and expression of the eastern pressure blade technology. The technology is present in most of the assemblages, but on Åsgarden 1 and Moen 1&2, Vega, it coexists with a blade technology usually interpreted as Early Mesolithic in nature. Since it is unlikely that the sites in question have been used in the Early Mesolithic, an explanation should therefore be sought elsewhere than in chronology. A possible explanation lies in technological choices in adaption to raw material of varying quality, and in Vega’s relative isolation from the mainland in the Mesolithic. The lack of relevant data from late EM and early MM sites in Nordland County makes a comparison with adjoining areas on the mainland difficult. However, with the available data from the rest of the country, the assemblages from Vega can hardly be classified as representative for the spread and adoption of the pressure blade concept.

The Karasai site: The first stratified Mesolithic assemblage in eastern Kazakhstan

In 2019, a joint Russian-Kazakh expedition discovered the first stratified Mesolithic locality in eastern Kazakhstan. Excavations at the Karasai site revealed a rich Early Holocene cultural layer (Layer 2). The lithic industry includes elements of all stages of lithic production. Cores include low-backed prismatic and narrow faced varieties and the tool assemblage is dominated by non-geometric microblade inset, fragmentary points, borers, micro-burins and microlithic scrapers. The Mesolithic age of the finds is confirmed by two AMS radiocarbon dates between 10,000–8,500 cal years BP. The Karasai industry most closely resembles lithic assemblages dating to the beginning of the Early Holocene in northern Kazakhstan.

Between Anatolia and the Aegean: Epipalaeolithic and Mesolithic Foragers of the Karaburun Peninsula

ABSTRACT The Epipalaeolithic and Mesolithic periods of Turkey are poorly understood. The discovery of two sites (Kocaman and Kayadibi) in the Karaburun Peninsula in coastal western Turkey opens a whole new window into our understanding of these periods in Turkey and beyond by providing the first solid evidence for pre-Neolithic foragers. This article presents typological and technological properties of the lithics from these two open-air sites in terms of raw material selection, tool types, and technological preferences and discusses the results in relation to contemporary Anatolian, Aegean, southwest Asian, and southeast European industries. Typological and technological analyses suggest that Kocaman lithics were part of the eastern Mediterranean and northern Aegean Epipalaeolithic traditions; the Kayadibi lithics, on the other hand, correspond well with the Aegean Mesolithic assemblages. The lack of any affinity between the Kayadibi and Initial Neolithic lithic assemblages from western Turkey has important implications about the Neolithization process of western Turkey and the Aegean.

Picking up the Pieces

This article centers on a discussion of blade fragments from two Late Mesolithic assemblages recovered during a recent excavation project in Rogaland, southwest Norway. Analysis undertaken during post excavation cataloging of lithic artefacts suggests some retouched and edge damaged pieces, represent minimally modified tools. The temporal context of the Sola finds offers an opportunity to reorientate research related to the northeast European/‘Post-Swiderian’ technological complex of which such tools were a central component. The studied fragments suggest that the two closely spaced areas may represent specialized, broadly contemporary activity. The results of this preliminary study highlight the latent interpretive potential of this relatively abundant yet somewhat intractable artefact class.

Formalized Reduction Sequences from the Site of Kerkhove, Belgium – New Perspectives on Early Mesolithic Flint Knapping

ABSTRACTThe refitting of eight Early Mesolithic artefact clusters yielded a detailed image of the flint knapping methods applied at the site of Kerkhove (BE). Apart from apparent intra-site variability, the analysis revealed a greater investment in core-shaping than is traditionally present in Early Mesolithic assemblages, combined with a clear preference for bladelet production organized from alternatingly used, opposed striking platforms. Both elements, unprecedented to some extent in Northwestern Europe, indicate continuity between Early Mesolithic technological traditions and those of the preceding, Final-Palaeolithic period.

Fishing together, fishing on its own: Fish exploitation patterns at the Neolithic Alepotrypa cave (Diros, Greece) and Aegean prehistoric fishing traditions

AbstractVarious marine animal assemblages from prehistoric contexts across the Mediterranean suggest a focus on the exploitation of marine resources by coastal populations as early as the Mesolithic. Along with the harvesting of nearshore coastal resources (fish and invertebrates), a more organised fishing activity that targeted pelagic species, traditionally considered migratory, is evident in several Mesolithic assemblages. With the advent of the Neolithic, marine‐related subsistence activities seem to be gradually restricted to the exploitation of coastal year‐round resources. The cave of Alepotrypa in the Peloponnese, Greece, provides an opportunity to ascertain the exploitation practices of a coastal Late/Final Neolithic community in which a combination of fishing strategies and a diversified connection to the sea were apparent. The abundant shell assemblage demonstrates the importance of molluscs for consumption, as well as the various uses of their shell. This paper focuses on the fish remains from the cave. Fish assemblages from this period are rather sparse in the Aegean. The study of the fish assemblage highlights the exploitation of pelagic fish species as well as the harvesting of a wide range of coastal fish species. A shift from pelagic to coastal resources and an intensification of fishing are also observed from the Late to Final Neolithic. These trends are discussed in the perspective of social organisation and technological adaptations, with an emphasis on the engagement of Neolithic fishermen in communal and individual fishing strategies and the seasonally important role of these activities. The choice of specific exploitation strategies and the diachronic trends observed suggest that earlier Mediterranean fishing traditions persisted until the end of the Neolithic.

Changes in ornamental traditions and subsistence strategies during the Palaeolithic-Mesolithic transition in Vlakno cave

The recently discovered Vlakno Cave, situated in the central part of the island of Dugi Otok (Croatia), is one of the most prominent Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites along the eastern part of the Adriatic coast. Its uninterupted stratigraphy offers a rare opportunity to study the response of Pleistocene populations to a post-glacial environment. The artifact assemblage shows a gradual transition toward a typical Mesolithic assemblage, but with strongly pronounced Epigravettian traditions. Subtle changes within mostly uniform material culture are best seen in the ornamental assemblage, but similar patterns can be observed in subsistence strategies and lithic production. The Epigravettian deposits are dominated with the remains of red deer. Changes can be observed with the beginning of the Holocene, when marked diversification of mammalian taxa is accompanied with an increasing number of fish and molluscs remains.

Changements technologiques pendant l’Holocène dans le bassin de l’Èbre. Stratégies de production et de gestion de l’industrie lithique d’Atxoste (Álava, Espagne)

Ces dernières décennies ont été marquées par une augmentation significative de l’intérêt porté aux sociétés de la fin du Pléistocène et du début de l’Holocène dans la péninsule Ibérique. Dans ce contexte, le bassin de l’Èbre a fait l’objet de programmes de recherche intensifs qui ont permis d’approfondir, d’une part, la compréhension des modes de vie des dernières sociétés de chasseurs-cueilleurs et, d’autre part, l’établissement de la dynamique chronoculturelle de la région. Aujourd’hui, cette dynamique est subdivisée en quatre phases : l’Épipaléolithique microlaminaire ou Épimagdalénien, le Sauveterrien microlaminaire ou Sauveterroïde, le Mésolithique à encoches et denticulés et le Mésolithique géométrique. L’objectif de cet article est de caractériser les industries lithiques du site d’Atxoste et d’apporter de nouvelles données technologiques sur chacune de ces traditions, afin d’affiner notre connaissance des changements technologiques. Pour cela, nous présenterons les principaux résultats des études relatives aux matières premières, à la technologie et à la typologie des ensembles lithiques des niveaux épipaléolithiques (VIb2 et VIb) et mésolithiques (VI, V, IV et IIIb2) du gisement d’Atxoste (Vírgala, Álava, Espagne), et nous les intégrerons dans le contexte régional du bassin de l’Èbre. Les résultats montrent que chacune des traditions lithiques répond à des objectifs et à une organisation particulière du système lithique. Ces nouvelles données mettent en évidence l’adoption et le développement de différentes stratégies et procédures technologiques en vue de l’obtention d’un équipement lithique varié. Autant d’éléments nouveaux qui permettent de mieux comprendre les dernières sociétés de chasseurs-cueilleurs.

Habitation Layers and Pedogenic Processes in Forest-Steppe Riverine Valleys West of the Don: The Case of Ilyinka

A Mesolithic site with an intrusive early medieval burial at Ilyinka in the Don basin is described. The Mesolithic assemblage suggests a revision of the Donets culture, whereas the burial reveals contacts between the nomadic peoples, pointing to affi nities with Alans rather than Bulgars. Based on soil analysis, environment and climate are reconstructed with reference to chronology and cultural attribution. The soil is gray sabulous pseudofi brous unsaturated humus with traces of modern and possibly ancient anthropogenic disruption. A succession of various pedogenic regimes caused by climatic and biotic changes is revealed. The early stage is marked by predominantly steppe conditions alternating with arboreal phases, whereas at the late stage the only landscape was steppe. An interchange of cultures occurred mainly during the steppe phases. The total duration of steppe regimes was at least 6 thousand years (alternating pedogenic phases make a more accurate estimate impossible). Despite the instability of the pedological record on the sandy subatratum, automorphous soils can be helpful for environmental and cultural reconstructions.

КУЛЬТУРНЫЙ СЛОЙ И ПОЧВЕННО-ГЕНЕТИЧЕСКИЕ ПРОЦЕССЫ В РЕЧНЫХ ДОЛИНАХ РАВОБЕРЕЖНОЙ ДОНСКОЙ ЛЕСОСТЕПИ (ПО МАТЕРИАЛАМ СТОЯНКИ ИЛЬИНКА)

A Mesolithic site with an intrusive early medieval burial at Ilyinka in the Don basin is described. The Mesolithic assemblage suggests a revision of the Donets culture, whereas the burial reveals contacts between the nomadic peoples, pointing to affi nities with Alans rather than Bulgars. Based on soil analysis, environment and climate are reconstructed with reference to chronology and cultural attribution. The soil is gray sabulous pseudofi brous unsaturated humus with traces of modern and possibly ancient anthropogenic disruption. A succession of various pedogenic regimes caused by climatic and biotic changes is revealed. The early stage is marked by predominantly steppe conditions alternating with arboreal phases, whereas at the late stage the only landscape was steppe. An interchange of cultures occurred mainly during the steppe phases. The total duration of steppe regimes was at least 6 thousand years (alternating pedogenic phases make a more accurate estimate impossible). Despite the instability of the pedological record on the sandy subatratum, automorphous soils can be helpful for environmental and cultural reconstructions.

Variability of Lithic Flaking Strategies: Factors and Meaning

Lithic flaking strategies were defined based on the study of large lithic assemblages from well-preserved sites, sometimes with flaking concentrations. In these contexts with good potential for the realization of complex refi I was able to obtain very significant results. This analysis method, often ignored in analyses of Mesolithic assemblages, revealed previously unknown features in both the spatial organization and technology of the assemblages studied. These data are integrated into a chrono-cultural framework that constitutes a solid reference base. The determination of raw material types and their origins, a research axis that is well established in the region, contributed greatly to our interpretations. It is thus possible to address the question of the potential relationship between procurement distances and flaking strategies. The variability of the flaking strategies represented by the most significant refitting groups, composed of nearly one hundred pieces, does not appear to be very significant. Four broad, unequally represented, strategies were defined and raise the question of their justification based on criteria of a very different nature.

Variability in the Manufacturing of Triangular Geometric Microliths during the Early Mesolithic: Toward a Simplification of Barb Manufacturing? A Comparative Techno-functional Analysis of Microlithic Assemblages from S

The aim of this short article is to present the heuristic potential of a detailed analysis of microliths. The analysis of the manufacturing methods and of the use-wear traces of microliths from two Early Mesolithic assemblages show a certain variability which can be interpreted as a simplification of operating procedures.

Mesolithic Sites and Surveys in Greece: A Case Study from the Southern Argolid

Regional surveys in Greece have only rarely identified Mesolithic sites, which consist typically of small, unobtrusive scatters of microlithic artifacts. Recently, a site location model was used along with targeted surveys to identify Mesolithic sites in the Argolid, Epirus, and the Sporades, and the results suggest that the Mesolithic may have been overlooked in some early surveys because, in part, the characteristic features of Mesolithic assemblages were unknown at the time. Using lithic assemblages from published sites as a guide, a re-study of lithics from a regional survey in the Southern Argolid (1979–83) was undertaken to determine if some small undated lithic sites from that survey were Mesolithic. Seven probable Mesolithic sites were identified, and the spatial distribution of the sites suggests that a logistical land-use foraging strategy was used in the Argolid during the Mesolithic.

The Early Mesolithic Haverbeck site, Northwest Germany: evidence for Preboreal settlement in the Western and Central European Plain

Archaeological sites dating from the Preboreal are of special interest since they mark the turning point in the transition between the cultures of the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. In spite of their relevance only few sites in the Western and Central European Plain have become known, thus providing an inhomogeneous basis for further hypotheses. In particular, sites in the widespread aeolian landscapes have been neglected for a long time due to their uncertain genesis, dating problems and obviously insufficient preservation. Our investigations of the Haverbeck site, situated in sandy aeolian substrate, seek to enhance knowledge about the Preboreal Mesolithic. The well-preserved archaeological spatial, technological and functional patterns and the geoarchaeological site formation were studied. Sedimentological and palaeopedological analyses, supported by 14C and OSL dating results, revealed that artefacts were deposited during the Preboreal on sands which had accumulated during the Younger Dryas and were reactivated in subsequent periods (Atlantic, Subboreal, Subatlantic). In spite of these processes, the artefacts remained unimpaired in their relative horizontal positions, enabling spatial analyses, which show a zonal differentiation and a prevalence of retooling and replacing activities. These results offer an insight into spatial and functional differentiations of the local Early Mesolithic subsistence, evidently including particular places for gathering and processing raw material. A comparison between the microlithic spectrum left behind and the number of points produced as concluded from the microburins indicates a greater typological differentiation than previously assumed for the Early Mesolithic. The remarkable variability of scraper forms obviously intentionally abandoned in a high number and replaced by new tools emphasizes the strong influence of functional elements on the typological assemblage composition. It is suggested that Early Mesolithic assemblages could display rather functional requirements or tasks performed than significant chronological or regional influences. In addition, the combination of 14C, OSL and pedology helped to reconstruct the aeolian accumulation/erosion dynamics and to present a considerable sequence of processes, some of which are closely connected with human activities.