ADITYA SINGH

ROLL NO: 2016130

SOFO

ASSIGNMENT- 2

Q. Discuss the Mesolithic age with reference to some of the Mesolithic culture in Europe and

West Asia.

Ans. The Mesolithic age came into being roughly around 10,000 years ago which coincided

with the beginning of a new Epoch. – The Holocene. Mesolithic age was earlier considered to be

a stage of prelude or what we call as a transitory phase between the Paleolithic- the Old Stone

Age and the Neolithic- the new Stone Age, being considered a phase of cultural disintegration

and also It was thought that hunting-and gathering was a crude mode of subsistence, capable of

supporting only small groups that had to be constantly on the move to eke out a living from the

forest. In the traditional view hunting and-gathering offered little competition to farming as a

mode of life. Recently this understanding has been molded into another direction. Archeologist T.

Douglas Price has stated that The Mesolithic was a phase of dynamic changes and innovations

rather than a time of cultural degeneration as it has been presented for so long and also as

Zvelebil has pointed out that in favorable environmental conditions hunting and gather was

capable of supporting much denser population than it was earlier though, points out that foraging

in the post glacial era will be considered parallel to agriculture and was equally viable as a means
of subsistence. Many didn’t want to take up the risk of Agriculture. The Holocene epoch began

after Pleistocene some 12,000 years ago being the ending of the last ice age was the time when

world temperatures began to increase with just a cold spell of 2000 years called the younger

Dryas. There was a northern shift in the Atlantic tree line. Recent ice core research has shown

that the Holocene environment was three times richer in carbon dioxide than any other phase in

History. There was the extinction of various big animals but we find more varieties.

We will now look into detail about Mesolithic in Europe.

Mesolithic in Europe is a very interesting topic as a lot of study and Excavations have been taken

up in the areas of Sweden, Denmark, Finland, England, Germany etc. This region had the most

profound interest of the rise in temperature because earlier this region was covered in ice and

now the area from where the ice sheet melted was colonized by the Steppe tundra and a variety

of other plants and grasses. The inhabitants had a flexible kind of diet as we know that the region

had various types of animals- both inland and marine- red deer, roe deer, wild boar and sea

animals like mollusk, oysters, water fowl, fish etc. we find trapping of fur bearing animals like

otter, pine, marten, wolf and squirrel not for meat but for their fur. Vegetable food did not play a

major role in the diet but we know that hazelnuts and some other nuts were important.

Archeologists have tended to refer to such economies as broad spectrum economies.

Throughout the Holocene we see the coming up of a subsistence strategy – settlements became

more settled, exchange network increased and we see greater sedentism. We see various types of

sites- coastal sites with or without shell middens, temporary coastal sites for fishing, inland

trapping station and inland lakeside settlements. Microliths are a major development of this

phase- they are generally 1-2 cm in size with various shapes like trapezoidal and triangular and

are hafted onto wooden or bone handles and are also used as arrow heads. One important feature
was they could be reworked easily and even replaced after a while which was very beneficial for

the hunters. There were 2 advancements that took place in the microliths- The projectile tips

became narrower and they got a broader cutting edge.

Mesolithic in Europe has been divided into 3 phases- Maglemose, Kongemose and the Ertebølle

culture.

The Maglemosean period that ranged around 7500-5700 B.C was a time of seasonal hunting and

exploitation of lakes and rivers. We find serrated bone and antler harpoons used for hunting of

fish and also of the elk and deer that were pushed into the lake. Dogs played a major role in

tracking elks and pushing them into the lakes. People hunted red deer, roe deer, wild boar,

beavers, water fowl, fishes like pike and scallops and oysters. Mullerup bog in Zealand gave the

name to this culture. Scatters of human bones have been found from the sites but a complete

burial is rare. Accumulation of animal and human bones represent that these sites were occupied

years after years. Specialized arrowheads have been found and we find evidence that big games

like aurochs were attacked with many arrows. Bones were used to make clubs, harpoons, axes

and fishing spears and also we find evidence of a 3 plates cut from a shoulder blade of an

aurochs. Hohen Viecheln, Ulkestrup and Amose area of Zealand are some important site. A

geometrically decorated antler stick has been found from the latter- containing a man probably a

shaman and a deer also 5 female figures etched on a Aurochs bone has been found.

Star Carr is a Mesolithic site in New Yorkshire, England dated around 7600BC which puts it

under the Maglemosean period was discovered by an amateur archeologist John Moore in 1947.

Evidence of a lakeshore platform has been found that would have been made by humans and we
find animal remains of various animals like the red deer, roe deer, wild boar, birds, beaver, pine

marten, hedge dog, hare and badger. We also find evidence of domesticated dogs. The trench has

shown evidences of worked woods which are the first signs of carpentry from Europe. We have

found elaborate headdresses, barbed point harpoons and a wood house from this site. We find

various flint blades that were used as axes and for skinning of animal hides.

The sites of the Kongemose period that ranged around 5700 to 4600 B.C are mainly situated on

Baltic Sea coasts exploiting both marine and terrestrial resources. The carbon analyses of human

bones represent that fish and sea mammals constituted a major part of the diet. Segebro yields 66

varieties of animal bones. Inland animals like red deer, roe deer, boar, elk and seals were

common along with marine animals. Kongemose sites are bigger than the Maglemosean one. We

have found a bull roarer from the Island of Zealand that when swung in the air made sound- it

could have been a fish trap or a weaving tool.

The Ertebølle Period which lasted some 4600 to 3200 B.C was the phase of culmination of

several trends in the Southern Scandinavia. Ertebølle technology was far better developed than

the previous cultures- the tools were both diverse in shape and specialized in function- great

array of wood, stone, bone and antler tools were used for elaborate activities. One of the most

important features of this culture was the coming up of pottery. Handmade pottery first appeared

in the later Ertebølle period in two forms- a flat, elliptical bowl interpreted as a lamp, and a deep,

open vessel with a pointed base and a decorated rim, regarded as a cooking pot. Many cooking

pots retained amorphous black surface deposits that are usually described as Burnt food crusts.

Evidence of watercraft in the form of dugout canoes up to 10 mtrs long made from lime wood

have been found during this period. We also find repairing of the canoes. Shell middens were an
important feature of the coastal sites but we also find many inland sites- Denmark has evidence

of 0ver 100 inland sites. Inland sites were scarce in number during the early phase but later we

see an increase in the number of inland sites. The diet of Ertebølle period was the same as the

earlier cultures including- elk, boar, deer, oysters, mussels, pike etc.

The site of Oleni Ostrov was accidently discovered while opening a limestone quarry in 1936

and from 1936 to 1938 a team led by V. Ravdonikas conducted extensive excavation in this area.

The Oleni Ostrov Island site has been the subject of varied levels of studies including those

observing the different types and idiosyncrasies of burial customs and unique prehistoric art

objects made from bone and antler. . The most interesting items are exquisite prehistoric art

objects of bones and antlers- symbolizing the spiritual world of the ancient fishers and hunters.

Hunting and fishing tools, weapons and jewellery of organic substance, such as elk, deer, wolf,

bear, and beaver bone and antler appear next to large slate, quartz and flint grave goods.

Excavations at the site which took place between 1936 and 1938 uncovered skeletal remains of

177 human individuals found in 141 distinct graves, the total numbers of graves from the sites

are estimated to be around 400 making it the largest Stone Age cemetery in Europe. More than

7000 artifacts have been discovered. There is a complete lack of pottery from this site.

Skateholm was discovered in the 1950s and an intense research was conducted by Lars Larsson

which began in 1979, with around 87 graves excavated till date. Graves with parallel sides and

rounded edges are common. There are variations in the length of the grave maybe because of the

positing in which the burial took place. The inhumation graves show individuals in a variety of

positions: supine, sitting, extended, flexed, and more. Skateholm 1 contained at least 57 graves
with 62 individuals as well as 8 dog graves while Skateholm 2 which is only partially excavated

held around 22 graves. Dogs received the same careful treatment and the same amount of grave

goods like antlers and red ochre.

We’ll now look upon the cultures from the Levant region of West Asia that are the Natufian and

the Geometric Kebaran culture that came up around some 10,000 years ago. Levant is the

Eastern Mediterranean region of West Asia that includes counties like Cyprus, Palestine, Syria,

and Turkey etc.

Geometric Kebaran is the last upper Paleolithic culture of the Levant region. The sites are found

from Israel to Sanai peninsular and the Negev desert. These sites are marked by thousands of

microliths and these sites occurred not only in the wooden places but also in the desert area. The

kebarans lived a highly mobile life and followed hunting and gathering. Plant food did not play a

big role in the diet of the people because they depended mostly on the meat and other gathered

food- The Kebaran tools lacked specialized grinding equipments except in some places where

wild cereals grew. We find engravings of birds, cross hatchings and ladder patterns on clay

objects. Pounding stones such as pestles, bowls and cup holes are known. Regional variation in

stone tools indicates constriction of local territories. There was an increase in the size of the sites

over the preceding period, suggesting population growth during the later periods.

The Natufian culture was discovered and named by Dorothy A. E. Garrod in 1928. It is

important to know about the environmental condition of this region- as the world temperatures
were increasing there was an increase in temperature in these regions as well, according to Bar-

Yosef and Meadow estimate that the 600km Levantine coastal plain between Turkey and the

Nile reduced between 2 to 40 kms in width. There are 2 Natufian periods – the early and the late

Natufian. The early Natufians settled around the Mediterranean region while the late Natufians

settled in the Steppes. Natufian sites include both open air and cave settlements. The early

Natufian are characterized by more substantial architecture- includes rounded pit houses, with

foundations made of local stones and walls supporting the perimeter of the structure, and inside

included hearths, pits, bins, paved floors etc, while the later sites have flimsier structures. Faunal

remains at Natufian sites indicate the use of a broad range of species which is not surprising as

numerous animals inhabited the Levant region in the post glacial times. We find bones of wild

boar, gazelle, red deer, roe deer, fallow deer, leopard, hare, wild horse etc. The Natufian presents

a striking increase in the number of human burials and the size and scale of the cemetery. Both

individual and collective burials include diversity of age and sex. Some of the dead were

decorated with jewellery, ornamental clothing and in rare cases portable art. Sometimes dead

were buried below some structures but never below living spaces marking a strict separation

between the living and the dead. There was an increase in the secondary burials as well. The

large Natufian sites such as Ain- Mallaha and Hayonim were largely sedentary occupation

looking at the amount of time and labor invested indicate substantial attachment to location. We

find evidence of a new species of animal the house mouse suggesting sedentism. Large numbers

of personal ornaments have been found. Oval bone pendants manufactured from gazelle

metapodials been recovered from several Natufian sites. Objects were often made from long

bone shafts and teeth of Gazelles, foxes, fallow deer, hares and birds. Use-wear analysis

indicates that bone tools were primarily used for hide working, weaving, and basketry. The
Natufian tool kit contained all manner of specialized plant-processing tools, including querns,

grinding slabs, pestles, mortars, and bone sickles with flint blades these bear a characteristic

“sickle gloss” caused by the silica in cereal grass stalks.

In Ain Mallaha freshwater fish and waterfowl were heavily exploited, finding evidence for

fishing in the coastal sites. Anatolian obsidian has been found at Mallaha. We get evidence of

formal burials from the site- individual burials under the house and collective burials in large pits

outside the house. We find a human and a dog burial has been found together. The site was

highly sedentary. There was a broad spectrum exploitation of various plants and animal materials.

At Mallaha we find circular stone structures varying from 4 to 9 mtrs were built into the side of a

terracotta slope and also we find hearths and pits. Postholes represent the existence of a wooden

roof.

Hayonim is also an important site of the region with similar characteristics like that of Ain

Mallaha. We find similar types of burials and also similar food practices. We have found

evidence of wild barley, legumes and wild almonds. There are various other sites such as Beidha

where we find 2 species of wild goat and ibex and also hearths and chipped and flint tools.

We have discussed about the various sites in the region of Europe and West Asia that tells us that

they have things in common. We find a greater level of settling down in these regions along with

a broad spectrum economy. Also we find a greater sense of belonging and also similarity in the

Mortuary practices. To conclude I would like to say that this phase of the Mesolithic was not a

prelude as it was earlier considered but instead it was a phase of rapid changes. It was in this

phase that the humans settled which later led to the coming up of agriculture.