Preferred Economies: The nature of the subsistence base throughout mainland Britain during prehistory 9781841710334, 9781407319230

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Preferred Economies The nature of the subsistence base throughout mainland Britain during prehistory

Andrew Richmond

BAR British Series 290 1999

Published in 2019 by BAR Publishing, Oxford BAR British Series 290 Preferred Economies © Andrew Richmond and the Publisher 1999 COVER IMAGE  Rock art from Val Camonica, Italy and Remigia, Spain. Such motifs are extremely important for our understanding of prehistoric economies. These scenes depict hunters and a farmer. The author’s moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9781841710334 paperback ISBN 9781407319230 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9781841710334 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com BAR Publishing is the trading name of British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd. British Archaeological Reports was first incorporated in 1974 to publish the BAR Series, International and British. In 1992 Hadrian Books Ltd became part of the BAR group. This volume was originally published by Archaeopress in conjunction with British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd / Hadrian Books Ltd, the Series principal publisher, in 1999. This present volume is published by BAR Publishing, 2019.

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An island of trees in a sea of arable . Barrows on the skyline in Wiltshire. At the time of construction the barrows will have been within woodland clearings. Paradoxically, today they are refuge for the few trees in the landscape.

Abstract

Contrary to popular belief, evidence of prehistoric economic activities is notoriously difficult to identify and interpret successfully.

This book traces the development of prehistoric societies throughout

mainland Britain with the aim of identifying the economic bases which supported them. It is a fresh study primarily utilising the growing body of data from the field of environmental science. Its aim is to question existing theories and to formulate new statements concerning the nature and development of the subsistence bases of past societies. In doing this it reanalyses accepted sequences in prehistory.

The book covers a considerable time scale, from the fifth through to the first millennia BC, and a large geographical expanse, but this is necessary if we are to observe real patterns of change in time and space. It is a comparative analysis between regions and periods.

Much of the text devotes itself to identifying the emergence of an agricultural economy across mainland Britain. The research shows that agriculture, as it is viewed today, will have played a peripheral role in the formation of the prehistoric landscape until more recent times.

In this respect the 'Neolithic

economy', as traditionally defined, perhaps did not develop across Britain until several millennia following the actual Neolithic.

What is clear from the study is a later date for the onset of an

agricultural economy than has formerly been suggested.

Whilst cereals and domestic livestock were present during the fifth and fourth millennia BC, the research shows that at this time they were not purely economic in nature. In this respect it is possible to follow a change throughout prehistory from initial utilisation to eventual production, thus identifying a change in use and significance of these items through time.

iii

iv

Contents Contents List of figures List of tables Acknowledgements

V

ix lX

xi

1 INTRODUCTION Introduction Aims and directions

2 THE ROLE OF CULTIGENS AND DOMESTIC LIVESTOCK 5000-3500 BC economic subsistence or innovative luxury Introduction

3

Old viewpoints reconsidered

3

Thoughts on the Late Mesolithic in Britain: themes on emerging complexity

5 5 8 9

- patterns of clearance - settlements and structures - Mesolithic review Early Neolithic concepts - evidence of settlements - monumental achievements - enclosure monuments - burial structures - clearances in the woodland - S Central and S E England - Eastern England - Peaks to the Pennines, Northumberland to the Cheviots - Wales and the S W of England - Cumbria - evidence from cultigens - evidence from domesticated animals - continued utilisation of wild resources - remaining evidence: artifacts

10 15 15 17 18 19 21 23 26 30 32 34

35 38 40

Discussion

V

3 TIIlRD MILLENNIUM BC ECONOMICS Introduction

43

Past viewpoints reconsidered

43 43 45

- a question of woodland re-establishment - views on social development

48

New evidence, new views - nature of the settlement record - evidence from the lowlands - Beaker settlements - evidence from the uplands

49 49 53 53

- nature of clearance activity 2700-1750 BC - S Central and S E England - Eastern England - Peaks to the Pennines, Northumberland to the Cheviots - Wales and the S W of England -Cumbria

58 58

69

- cereal and livestock domestication - nature of cultigen utilisation - nature of domestic livestock - the wild component

70 70 74 76

61 64

67

Discussion

78

4 CHANGING ECONOMIC VALUES: THE BRITISH BRONZE AGE FROM 1750-600 BC Introduction

80

Current viewpoints reconsidered - existing traditions - contrasting ideologies

80 80

New light on old issues - upland continuum

82 82

Vulnerable regions: the sensitivity of settlement and agriculture to climate The emergence of an agricultural economy

84

81

- the lowland zone - the Thames Valley - the Sussex and Kent landscape - Central Southern England - Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire - Norfolk, Suffolk and Hertfordshire - Essex

vi

85 85 85 88 89

92 93 94

- the upland zone - Northumberland and Scotland - Cumbria and Wales - South West England - North Yorkshire and the Peak District Discussion

95 99 102 107 110

5 ARCHAEOLOGY, PALYNOLOGY AND PREIDSTORY Preferred economies

111

Stepping on the treadmill

113

glossary of Latin words used in text

115

Appendix 1 sites discussed in Chapter 2 Appendix 2 sites discussed in Chapter 3 Appendix 3 sites discussed in Chapter 4

119 124 130

Bibliography

137

viii

List of Figures

Figure 1

Distribution of principal sites discussed in text

xiv

Figure la

Location of sites throughout Scotland

14

Figure lb

Location of sites throughout Northern England

24

Figure le

Location of sites throughout Wales and the South-West of England

28

Figure ld

Location of sites throughout Central and Eastern England

48

Figure le

Location of sites throughout Central and Southern England

52

Schematic diagram showing date of major clearance phases in South-Eastern England

57

Schematic diagram showing date of major clearance phases in Eastern England

62

List of Tables Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

Schematic diagram showing date of major clearance phases in Northumberland , Borders and Scotland 66

Table 4

Schematic diagram showing date of major clearance phases Wales and the South-West of England

101

Schematic diagram showing date of major clearance phases in Cumbria and North Yorkshire

106

Table 5

ix

X

Acknowledgements

This book bas developed out a doctoral thesis submitted to the University of Reading in 1996. The new text is considerably shorter, but does take into consideration those relevant publications which have emerged since initial submission and subsequent publication. The ideas put forward, however, are essentially those which were developed between the years 1990 to 1995. My indebtedness to the work of others will be evident in the text, but in particular, gratitude must be expressed to the following. Professor Richard Bradley has steered my progress from the very beginning. Throughout the years he has continually pointed me in the right directions, frequently pulling me back from wrongful paths; I have continually benefited from his acute judgement on many points. From an early stage, Dr. Martin Bell provided invaluable assistance and was a steady stream of informative advice. It was from the teachings of Martin and Dr. Julian Thomas at Lampeter, in the years 1985 to 1988, that the present book was instigated. The different areas of specialism they were teaching led me to consider writing a study which would try to understand the temporal and spatial interrelationships of social groups with their environment. I also owe a debt to the many archaeologists with whom I have worked, discussed and argued during the course of numerous field projects over the past ten years. An exchange of letters between the following Sites and Monuments Record Offices drew my attention to the considerable body of data which has not yet reached publication. I thank each for providing me with important lists of information ( Cheshire County Council, Cleveland County Council, Cornwall

County Council, Cumbria County Council, Derbyshire County Council, the Peak Park Joint Planning Board, Devon County Council, Dorset County Council, Essex County Council, Leicestershire County Council, North Yorkshire County Council, Norfolk Museums Service, Northumberland County Council, Suffolk County Council, Surrey County Council, Wiltshire County Council, West Sussex County Council. Finally I thank Professor Richard Bradley again for purging the final text of a number of imperfections; those that remain, however, are my own.

All radiocarbon calibrations have been worked out using Stuiver and Pearson's calibrated radiocarbon timetable based on Irish oak (1986) The administrative areas used in the text are as per the 1974 local government administrative boundaries

xi

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Figure 1 Distribution of principal sites discussed in text. For greater detail see figures 1a to 1e.

1

Introduction to the study: economic and social sequences in prehistoric studies

Introduction Prehistoric study has always run the risk of becoming too compartmentalised. Numerous analyses of the period have been written which continue to force a separation between conventional chronologies at one level, and human groups, their sites and their artifacts at another. Such studies are clearly restrictive in their outlook and can force a sense of discontinuity in the archaeological record which may be illusory. Research along these lines all too often disrupts the identification of continuity in the record. The following analysis sets out to review the wider patterning of prehistoric data and is a work of interpretation. It is not, however, an all-encompassing study. No piece of work can claim to be a complete synthesis as our database is continually growing and the variety of approaches to the evidence is almost infinite. This book attempts to re-assess accepted sequences of prehistory through the growing body of new data, especially information from the field of environmental science. It is a study which aims not to rely on conventional chronologies, but rather reviews periods of continuity and discontinuity prevalent in prehistoric studies. Indeed, a detailed review of the data forces a reconsideration of ideas which have almost slipped into orthodoxy. This book is about prehistoric societies and the economies which supported them. The nature of the economy provides a common theme running through the separate chapters. Chapter 2 begins by taking a general look at Late Mesolithic society and follows the character of the economic base through to the Middle Neolithic. The next chapter follows the sequence through to the Middle Bronze Age showing that the temporal divisions traditionally applied to prehistory at this time are no longer tenable in the light of the economic evidence. The effects of social and economic change across the landscape are the focus of Chapter 4 which traces the picture through into the Middle Iron Age. In this chapter it becomes clear that it was during the Bronze Age, rather than at its inception or close, that major social and economic transformations took place. The final chapter brings together the conclusions reached in the individual accounts and offers some new ideas on the changing structure of the economic base of society over a period of four millennia. Throughout the book, analyses are presented of a number of important issues which relate to each of the major periods in British prehistory in order to assess the validity of existing theories. The issues are illustrated by a variety of themes which are interrelated. Whilst each of the

chapters concentrates on one theme, the studies are in fact connected and should not be viewed in isolation. Indeed, the complete analysis draws together strands of evidence in order to present a diachronic review of prehistory from the fourth to the first millennium BC. It is clear that this covers a considerable time-scale, but such an approach is necessary to observe change in the record. A long chronological analysis creates an awareness of change that cannot be achieved in a study of a single 'period' as traditionally defined. It also allows a range of crosschronological comparisons to be made which are important in the investigation of the scale and context of various perceptible prehistoric activities. The analysis concentrates on evidence throughout England, Scotland and Wales, but the author hesitates to extend the discussion to include Ireland. It became clear during the early stages of research that the volume of data available from Ireland would justify a separate book. However, some of the evidence from Ireland is considered to be important to the developing analyses and, where appropriate, has been incorporated. Extensive use is made of both archaeological and environmental sources so that it becomes possible to construct a realistic picture of the interactions between developing human groups and the environments in which they lived. The study, however, requires a theoretical framework to aid our understanding of perceptible transformations, modifications, periods of growth and of decline. A theoretical outline is necessary to structure observation and to control interpretation. As this study focuses upon many issues of prehistoric research it undoubtedly reflects upon a range of contrasting theoretical viewpoints. However, as our concern is to understand the temporal and spatial interrelationships of social groups with their environment, it is necessary primarily to use an ecosystemic framework for study. An advance on the palaeo-economic approach favoured during the 1970's (Higgs 1972, 1975, Sheridan and Bailey 1981), its practical concern is to structure perceptible processes of human and environmental interaction.

Aims and Directions Each chapter adopts a general chronological approach. Initially the type of economy operating during the Neolithic is examined to identify the level and extent of hunting, gathering and foraging strategies which were

Preferred Economies

interpret, through time, the scale and nature of cultural activity in relation to its economic base and environmental setting. This approach transcends the individual preoccupation with single categories of artifact, single periods or even single sites in isolation. It aims to achieve an interdisciplinary appreciation of the interaction between human communities and their environment at a number of economic and perhaps social levels. By focusing upon individual concerns it would be easy to fail to recognise the more diffuse 'but equally real impacts of people on the landscape at large' (Butzer 1982 123).

employed by groups through the fourth and into the early third millennia BC. The analysis undertaken erodes, to an extent, the once orthodox division between Mesolithic and Neolithic society. The second area of research focuses upon the scale and nature of economic activity during the mid to late third millennium BC, a period once thought to be characterised by episodes of forest regeneration. A reexamination of this period becomes necessary in the light of the evidence discussed. The third area of study aims to re-analyse the character of settlement and economy, particularly that of an upland character, which established itself throughout the British Isles during the late second to early first millennium BC. This final analysis re-assesses the level of agricultural intensification which developed down to the mid first millennium BC.

The study begins by examining sites and moves on to consider whole landscapes. The interpretation will not rely solely upon evidence from artifactual analysis, but will also take into account recent findings from the fields of environmental science and settlement study. This approach enables development to be traced at several important levels, which may, or may not, mutually reinforce each other in archaeologically recognisable patterning. Although there will never be enough evidence to provide a definitive picture, a series of competing hypotheses can be offered. Gaps inevitably exist, but what follows is an optimistic approach demonstrating that positive results can be achieved by the types of analyses presented and this affords further scope for discussion.

These different topics together explore · social and economic development throughout prehistory. Although each theme explores a different segment of the archaeological and environmental record, it is possible to identify significant relationships between them. The long time-scale chosen provides the opportunity to investigate both the scale and context of a variety of perceptible past activities. This leads to the ultimate objective of the study, which is to

2

2 The role of cultigens and domestic livestock 5000-3500 BC economic subsistence or innovative luxury

Introduction over time, identifying their changing role and significance in society until the Roman Conquest.

In recent years archaeologists have become increasingly aware of the valuable contribution environmental science can bring to the discipline. Palaeo-environmental data, once confined to the concluding appendices of a site report, are increasingly being viewed within archaeological frameworks thus enabling multi-disciplinary analyses. The period under discussion throughout the following chapter perhaps demonstrates more than any other period the necessity of the interdisciplinary approach.

This promises to be a worthwhile pursuit, as, rather than confining the study to a consideration of the emergence and subsequent phases of intensification, we will be more concerned with the changing utilisation of crops and animals together with patterns of regional variation. I will present evidence suggesting that the initial use of cultigens and domestic livestock in the British Isles evolved around important tactics of social emulation, and that this development could perhaps have occurred as part of an indigenous strategy. In this manner such resources may have only been utilised by an elite for specific purposes other than subsistence, and therefore their appearance in the record may not necessarily reflect economic reorganisation. In this respect the contexts of the evidence will be of considerable importance, and it will be in this framework that an analysis of the period's settlement, monumental, artifactual and burial records will be required. As will be seen in later chapters, actual agricultural intensification perhaps did not take place for over a millennium following the initial introduction of domesticates. At this time the social and economic context of agricultural production appears to have changed from its earlier connotations.

In the British Isles the period from the mid fifth millennium BC through to the mid fourth millennium was one of considerable change in the archaeological and palaeoenvironmental records. Sites of an anthropogenic nature become more prolific throughout the landscape and the emergence of new forms of site reflecting communal efforts suggest an increase in the population base and its extension into new regions. Coupled with these developments was the emergence of cultigens and domestic livestock apparently relating to a more sedentary way of life. A transition from mobility to sedentism was thought to have occurred and this idea suggested a major difference between the insular Mesolithic population and an incoming farming community, the latter represented by monumental architecture, ceramic production and evidence of real social cohesion. An important element of this model was the relationship between archaeological and environmental data. It was assumed from the scant evidence that the appearance of monuments and ceramics coincided with the arrival of domestic species of livestock and plants relating to cultivation; the evidence together being termed the 'Neolithic package' . Recent studies have challenged such viewpoints, however, and as will be seen in the following pages, we can now accept the existence of foragers with ceramics (Rowley-Conwy 1983) and monumentality without agriculture (Bradley 1993). Within the new framework it will be necessary to analyse the nature of cultigen and domestic livestock exploitation.

Old Viewpoints Reconsidered The traditional view of agricultural beginnings has always been of a non-indigenous Neolithic population displacing an indigenous Mesolithic society firmly grounded in hunting and gathering. In certain regions it has been suggested that the indigenous population was assimilated into the cultural framework of food producers, and in other cases forcible eradication of the former may have occurred. The Neolithic was viewed as the result of an invasion and over the years a division has been created between the two apparently separate cultural entities.

Most studies of the adoption of domesticated plants and animals have been concerned with the accurate dating of the earliest evidence. From here authors move on to discuss the movements of the first farmers through Britain. This chapter, however , aims to review the actual utilisation and scale of cultigen and livestock resources and the following chapters will trace the development of their exploitation

This elusive invasion was viewed as a widespread and relatively swift operation and by the late fifth millennium BC authors envisaged the presence of a mature farming system (Case 1969, Helbaek 1952). Inroads were seemingly made into 'most areas of Britain' and the impact of farming was described as 'impressive' (Darvill 1987

3

Preferred Economies methods were adopted by groups whose usual resource base was no longer available.

54). Crops and domestic livestock were apparently integrated into the 'prevailing patterns' and were not seen to have presented 'any major difficulties' (Dennell 1983 186). It became a popular belief that the so called Mesolithic-Neolithic transition was the 'most rigidly demarcated frontier in the whole of European prehistory' (ibid 152).

Although breaking barriers in considering the problem from a hunter-gatherer perspective , this interpretation suggested that the emergence of a 'Neolithic lifestyle ' was purely a result of a Mesolithic adaptation (Thomas 1988a 59). Also the model of Zvelebil and Rowley-Conwy assumed that some form of ecological catastrophe took place throughout north-west Europe for the wide variety of hunting and gathering groups to have resorted to the 'necessity ' of agricultural adoptio n (ibid 62). This is unlikely to have been the case.

In the eyes of these archaeologists the mid fifth to early fourth millennium BC saw a spread of crop and animal husbandry by farming groups migrating across Europe. Authors found it difficult to see an Early Neolithic population relying on anything less than a full blown farming economy . Such an economy was viewed as productive and could allow the generation of surplus labour once agriculture had become established. The surplus labour, once freed from the land, could thereafter concentrate on other activities , such as the construction of monuments; these supposedly reflecting a community ' s economic prosperity .

Explanation had clearly moved from questions concerned with how agriculture arrived in Britain, (ie invasion [people], acculturation [ideas], etc) , through to questions of why agriculture developed . The extensive literature on the subject is certainly testament of long and fervent discussion . One such monograph devoted to the question lists nearly forty opinions, although it agrees that several major theories have dominated the debate (Gebauer and Price 1992 2). By and large the major ideas can be described in terms of the factors they emphasise. Early ideas are represented by the work of Gordon Childe who suggested the so-called 'Oasis hypothesis' in which plants, animals and humans would compete for the best environmental locations (1956a) . The successful solution for a human community in this situation would be for the population to domesticate and control plants and animals. By the late 1960's Lewis Binford was challenging earlier ideas and suggested that human groups would not become farmers unless they had no other choice; why would groups resort to the hard labour of agriculture following, perhaps, millions of years of successful foraging tactics? (1968, 1984). He made his point in terms of population pressure versus available food resources and concluded that population growth caused the origins of agriculture. Perhaps the model suggested by Zvelebil and RowleyConwy can be seen in terms of these ideas.

The suggestion of a rigid boundary demarcating a Mesolithic population from a Neolithic one has presented continuing problems. As more sites are looked at and evidence accumulates, new categories of information have been created which are at variance with the traditional model. For instance, the discovery of Cerealea pollen from mid fifth millennium BC contexts prompted archaeologists to discuss sites with evidence of a 'Neolithic' economy in pre-Neolithic times (Edwards 1988a). Problems evidently existed with the invasionist theory, and rapidly new suggestions came to the fore. It was clear that a neat division between the old and the new did not exist, and students proceeded to suggest ideas of regional variation in the record which perhaps accounted for these disparities. In this respect agricultural adoption was not seen to progress in a 'wave of advance', rather it developed in those regions where such an economy was initially best suited (see for example Whittle 1990). Such suggestion led to the idea that hunting and farming groups had coexisted within the landscape (Woodman 1978, Williams 1989 516).

More recently , a community 's demand for social prestige has been considered as an important factor in the introduction of agriculture. Bender has argued that to understand the transition to farming and food storage one cannot simply talk in terms of environment and population (1978). She suggested that the success of agricultural development may lie more in the ability of certain individuals or groups to gain access to agricultural produce and thereafte r transform the acquired resource into other forms of wealth. This theoretical stance suggests that a group primarily dependent upon wild resources will develop economically through processes of social inequality . Such a suggestion draws attention to ideas of competition and social complexity amongst hunter-gatherer groups .

As early as 1944 Faegri was discussing the overlap in the cultural record of hunter-gatherer and Neolithic cultures in Denmark (1944 460). He even discussed the question of agricultural adoption by indigenous hunter-gatherers as opposed to the partial or wholesale immigration of agriculturalists. In a more recent paper Edwards similarly suggested 'farming ' by indigenous hunting and gathering communities 'who had perhaps acquired such knowledge of cultivation through contact' (1988 259). The role of the Mesolithic community in the adoption of agriculture was becoming recognised and terms such as invasion were replaced by ideas of acculturation and interaction . One paper which strove to demonstrate developments on a European scale was that by Zvelebil and Rowley-Conwy who again suggested that hunting group s knew of agriculture (1984). They indicated that agricultural

Thomas ( 1996, 1999) has revisited the questi on of agricultural origins from a social perspective , a line of

4

Cultigens and Domestic Livestock 5000-3500 BC

enquiry perhaps developing out of that formulated by Bender. Amongst other issues, he concerned himself with outlining the true nature and context of the evidence relating to early cultivation and domestication. From this position Thomas believed that archaeological sites could be viewed with greater clarity and inappropriate categorisation could perhaps be avoided.

1993, Edwards and Ralston 1984, Groenman-van Waateringe 1983) and upon a European level there have been instances of foraging groups with ceramics and the knowledge of livestock domestication (Rowley-Conwy 1983, Jacobsen 1981 303). Such evidence lends one to suggest a situation in which native people possessed a kind of special knowledge generally associated with the term Neolithic. The following section re-analyses a body of evidence from the Late Mesolithic and attempts to see whether the available data confirm developing ideas suggesting emerging complexity during the early to mid fifth millennium BC.

Re-analysis of the evidence from southern England forced Thomas to re-categorise a range of early type-sites for the Neolithic and in the light of the resulting framework he went on to suggest a refreshing view of society and its development from the mid fifth to the mid fourth millennium BC. Within his broad study Thomas challenged the orthodox view of a Neolithic society firmly grounded in a sedentary mixed farming lifestyle. The resulting analysis departed from the usual associations between Neolithic material culture and a mixed farming economy and in this sense his study differed from the economic approach so evident in many earlier works, although as early as 1978 some authors had criticised this; at the economic level 'the first Neolithic [was] not particularly different from Mesolithic practice' (Bradley 1978 99). More recent studies, however, have emphasised the social and conceptual issues involved in differing attitudes to production (Thomas 1991, 1999, Hayden 1992). According to Thomas, change took place in the social framework of production; in the way in which developing concepts and notions were utilised. Rather than simply breaking down the barrier between the Mesolithic and Neolithic at the economic level, Thomas questioned what we mean by the term Neolithic.

Patterns of clearance The later Mesolithic in the British Isles represents a long period of dominance of the landscape by a mixed deciduous forest. Species such as oak, elm, lime and alder replaced birch and pine toward the close of the Boreal and other species including holly, ivy and ash also develop, though they are less abundant. The low levels of these light demanding species upon most Mesolithic sites confirm that the canopy was dense over much of the British Isles. Simmons et al point out that 'no description of the forest of the Mesolithic period can be given that applies to the whole of England, let alone to Scotland and Ireland' (1981 99). Considerable variation in species exist relating to a wide range of ecological factors including soil, sunshine availability, rainfall and altitude. Leaving aside such variation, the Mesolithic deciduous forest could perhaps be seen as a continuous high-level canopy with a related shade-tolerant ground vegetation. Changes in the ground vegetation would occur when gaps in the canopy were created by means such as wind throw, lightning or the death of a large tree (see Crombe 1993, Simmons 1996, Brown 1997). This would allow the rapid development of a rich shrub flora and the establishment of pioneer species including ash, hazel and birch. Such succession would provide attractive food resources including a wide variety of fruit and nut plants for exploiting animal communities. Regeneration of the forests may even have been prevented if concentrations of ungulate herbivores frequented such areas. The same range of nutritious and appealing species dependent upon a good light source would also have been found toward the edges of the forested landscape. Coastal and riverine environs such as the Somerset and East Anglian Fens would be less densely populated by the larger tree species and would provide a valuable and varied resource base available for manipulation.

The following chapter aims to develop that outline. The study as a whole strives to establish the nature and utilisation of cultigens and domesticates throughout British prehistory. It will be in this context that the critical questions regarding why such evidence appears in the record will have to be considered. This brief summary of earlier ideas shows that early ideas of invasion gave way to suggestions of acculturation and indigenous development. Our study will have to begin by looking at Late Mesolithic society.

Thoughts on the Late Mesolithic in Britain themes on emerging complexity

The Late Mesolithic has traditionally been viewed as a period dependent upon hunting and gathering. It has developed as an entity in prehistoric chronology, correlating with the Flandrian chronozone II (Atlantic) which is a period of stability of environment as opposed to the rapid ecological changes recognised during the earlier, Flandrian I (pre-Boreal/Boreal). Over the past decade, however, it has been suggested that cereal pollen exists in British pre-Neolithic contexts (Edwards 1988a, 1989,

Within this ecological framework were active human societies of Mesolithic culture. The life style of these people was based upon the successful exploitation of the native fauna and flora and research over the years has identified the existence of a dynamic population of hunting

5

Preferred Economies and gathering groups . It is probable that these groups exploited, amongst other areas, natural clearings in the forests, which could thereafter be maintained. Brown has termed this 'opportunistic human use of natural clearings' and believes that certain naturally created openings in the forest could have determined the location of human activities (1997 142). Unfortunately, regional pollen sequences lack the spatial resolution to detect such isolated clearings or the effects of subtle human impacts to them (ibid 133).

unlikely that any stone axe found in Late Mesolithic contexts would have made much impression on mature forest trees' (1996 136). Even so, at the site of Deepcar in Yorkshire increased deforestation of a Mesolithic date has been attributed to the use of the tranchet axe (Radley and Mellars 1964). Indeed, detail has been emerging over the years of a Mesolithic population ready to modify its environment through deliberate manipulation, and this exploitation has been picked up in the pollen and mineral soil records (Simmons 1969, 1996, Simmons and Innes 1987, 1988, 1996, Spratt and Simmons 1976, Tipping 1994a, Zvelebil 1994). Although evidence suggests that woodland removal began during the earlier Mesolithic (such as the pollen evidence for Dartmoor), the period of significant decline is generally the later Mesolithic (Simmons et al 1982, Simmons and Innes 1988 10, 1996, Simmons 1996).

On those sites where preservation has been adequate, bone remains relating to exploited species have often been recovered. The remains from the excavated· shell midden of Morton Tayport B, Fife are testimony to the wide range of wild species available (Coles 1971, 1983). Forty species of mollusc were present , the cockle and edible crab being most prolific . Fish were well represented, as were species of birds , and the full range of ungulates could be accounted for.

The prevalence of open conditions is primarily reflected by the presence of light-demanding species within pollen diagrams. Ruderals such as ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata) and sorrel (Rumex) are generally indicative of open conditions and do make a conspicuous appearance in a number of early to mid fifth millennium BC contexts. Heather (Calluna) is another light demanding plant which responds quickly to changes in forest composition, and in the southern Pennine region an increase in the amount of heather pollen from diagrams associated with Mesolithic activity strongly suggests clearance (Radley et al 1974 lff, Simmons 1996). Clearance is also suggested in the layers of soligenous mires of areas such as the North Yorkshire Moors (Simmons et al 1975). · The inwash stripes from Ewe Crag Slack for instance suggest an opening in the local environment which is not thought to relate to climatic factors. Further evidence comes in the form of burning patches and charcoal concentrations in the stratigraphy of many Late Mesolithic sites (Mellars 1976, Caseldine and Hatton 1993, Tipping 1994a 17, Simmons and Innes 1996, Simmons 1996). It is perhaps this method of clearance which had the greatest effect upon the status of the Atlantic forest. Patterson et al (1987) have, however, emphasised that the origins and occurrences of fires cannot always be reliably determined this far back. It is clear many different interpretations are present in the literature (ibid).

Indirect evidence for fauna! exploitation comes from an analysis of the hunting tools possessed by these peoples. Lithic, antler and bone artifacts have been located on a range of sites and appear to relate to processes of animal hunting as well as meat processing and hide preparation (Gendel 1988 40, Dumont 1988). At Hard Hill on the Moor House Nature Reserve Johnson and Dunham (1963) came across a number of late type Mesolithic flints along with several auroch horn cores in the course of investigating blanket bog deposits. Such an association perhaps indicates a butchery site. Evidence of the use of vegetation is rather more tentative. The remains are generally found in either waterlogged or charred conditions and it is often difficult to elucidate which species were actually used. Charred hazelnuts have been found at over twenty Mesolithic sites in the British Isles (Zvelebil 1994, Spikins 1999) and clearly represented an important plant resource in the diet. It is difficult, however, to know the importance of plant species which do not survive well in the archaeological record, such as greens and soft fruits. It is clear though that the proportion of edible plants available to communities would have been high. Zvelebil , citing Clarke (1976), believed that the number of edible species in the Atlantic forest would have been between 250-450 (1994 41). This would have included a wide variety of nuts, berries, bulbs, roots, tubers, rhizomes, flowers, fungi, lichens and wild grasses, and represents in most instances an abundance of foodstuffs during most seasons, which would have been increased if storage potential existed.

A body of evidence therefore exists which identifies a later Mesolithic population well adapted to the exploitation of a wide and varied natural resource base. Furthermore there appears to be a concern with creating areas of open land within the forest environment. It is necessary, however , to consider a Mesolithic community ' s objectives in creating these conditions .

Indirect evidence for vegetation exploitation perhaps exists in the form of the tranchet axe. This tool has been discussed as a 'wood cutting implement' and suggests an ' increasing concern with felling' in an environment which had become a closed forest (Simmons et al 1981 102-3), although more recently Simmons has stated 'that 'it seems

The concern with felling is thought to relate to economic factors . The presence of a proportion of open forest would have been of direct concern to populations dependent upon the manipulation of animal communities . As Mellars has discussed , human groups do not always accept the environment they find, but try to mould it into a more 6

Cultigens and Domestic Livestock 5000-3500 BC favourable one for the animals on which they depend (Mellars 1975 49.fJ). It is clear that human communities possessed the technology necessary to carry out processes of clearance. The use of the tranchet axe conjures up images more generally associated with people of the Neolithic and the utilisation of fire represents a strategy of forward planning and adaptation indicating a degree of social cohesion. It has long been recognised that after an area of forest has been cleared with the use of fire the grazing and browsing potential of that land is greatly increased (Jacobi et al 1976, Simmons 1969a, 1996). The openings would undoubtedly become 'attraction sites' for groups of herbivores and the aggregation of this food source would have proved valuable to local huntergatherers. It is possible that Mesolithic groups observed the correlation between burning and the greater quantity and accessibility of their chosen animals; Simmons has suggested that the animals selected were perhaps 'those which responded most to the use of fire' (Simmons et al 1981 103).

Where charcoal deposits are not present, floral species such as hazel have been taken to indicate burning. Smith sees the dominance of hazel in certain early pollen diagrams as the result ofrepeated burning (Smith 1970 81). This is a plant which is not destroyed .by fire and so is able 'to sprout quickly and achieve the dominance that the pollen profiles show' (Simmons et al 1981 103). Iping and West Heath in Sussex both had buried soil profiles of a Late Mesolithic date which contained high pollen counts for hazel. At both sites it is probable that the hazel levels increased following clearance by burning (Keef et al 1965 88, Baigent 1976). Whilst one should observe the cautions of Tipping et al (1994) when inferring from buried soils, it is interesting to note that the preponderance of hazel pollen is 'without parallel' in any of the earlier interglacial periods (ibid 104). It is clear that there is extensive evidence relating to episodes of clearance during the Late Mesolithic, and that some of the practices utilised were perhaps strategic adaptations relating to the development of local economic procedures. Mesolithic groups do not appear to have been just hunting herbivores; rather they seem to have been exploiting them more intensively in what could be termed a form of animal husbandry. It is perhaps in this context that one can envisage the utilisation of floral species such as ivy (Hedera) and elm (U/mus) as winter fodder (Troels-Smith 1960). Indeed, Pryor suggested that the Mesolithic population represented the first herdsmen who initially kept animals within natural clearings and then developed further clearings upon an organised basis in order to concentrate herbivores (Pryor 1988 72).

Although natural fires could account for some of the charcoal deposits (see Chandler et al 1983) it would be unwise to suggest that all evidence of burning started on a haphazard basis (see Simmons 1996). A Mesolithic impact upon the environment has been represented by charcoal concentrations from a number of sites throughout the British Isles. In Scotland the sites of Machrie Moor on Arran, Lang Loch on the east coast of South Uist, Beinn Eighe in the uplands of the north-west and Cross Lochs in Sutherland have all shown episodes of forest burning dated to secure Mesolithic horizons (Robinson and Dickson 1988, Durno and McVeen 1959, Charman 1992, Bennett et al 1990). Similarly a number of North Yorkshire sites, including North Gill and Bonfield Gill, have burning episodes, the enhanced levels of charcoal being the first clue to the presence of a disturbance phase, and in Northumberland woodland recession is a clear feature of the charcoal and pollen evidence from Black Lough and Dufton Moss (Simmons and Innes 1988, 1996, Moyle 1980, Squires 1978). At Waun Fignen Felen in the Black Mountain region of South Wales clearance of a Mesolithic date has been recognised from the charcoal data and this activity appears to have been, in part, responsible for mor development and peat initiation (Smith, A G 1984, Simmons 1996). Further to the south similar evidence has emerged from Black Ridge Brook, Pinswell and Blacklane Brook on northern Dartmoor, Dozmary Pool, Bodmin, and in a less elevated position at Sharpsbridge in the Sussex High Weald (Caseldine and Maguire 1986, Caseldine and Hatton 1993, Brown 1977, Scaife and Burrin 1983). In Ireland charcoal suggesting pre-Neolithic clearance has been located at Newferry in Co. Antrim, and at Cashelkeelty in Co. Kerry clearance indicators and burning are seen to be of a similar early date. Williams (1989 518) has in fact stated that the perceived activity at Cashelkeelty relates to Mesolithic groups practising arable techniques, since the cereal pollen identified pre-dates the evidence for the earliest Neolithic industries in Ireland.

Although this kind of husbandry falls short of true domestication, the picture on the continent shows a more complex state of affairs. In France Late Mesolithic groups are thought to have been exploiting truly domesticated sheep and cattle and it is argued that forest clearances were made for their benefit, although Zilhao (1993) urges one to be careful when analysing such evidence (Geddes 1985 25, Simmons et al 1981 105). Edwards (I 989) and Woodman (1994), however, have pointed to certain instances closer to home where domestic species have been located from Mesolithic contexts. At Ferriter's Cove, Co. Kerry, and Sutton and Dalkey Island both in Co. Dublin finds of 'apparently domesticated animals in Mesolithic contexts' have been recovered (Edwards 1989 150, Woodman 1978, 1994, Woodman and O'Brien 1994). The remains from the site of Dalkey V may be unsuitable for discussion as the site was so disturbed (Woodman 1994 216), and the bone from Sutton gave an exceptionally early AMS date, perhaps casting doubt on its true age (Mitchell 1972a). It is perhaps only the cattle bones from Ferriter's Cove which positively identify domesticated animals in the Late Mesolithic. Chambers (1978 279), however, showed that Mesolithic artifacts have been found in association with the horn sheaths of domesticated cattle at the Valley Bog site on the 7

Preferred Economies Moor House Reserve in the Pennines, and Lacaille has noted the existence of what appears to be domestic fauna within midden build-up deposits on Oban although some of the radiocarbon dates do relate to the Iron Age (Lacaille 1954, Saville and Hallen 1994).

identified stake-holes associated with three hearths and a paved area (Radley et al 1974), and at Dunford Bridge A (500m OD) an oval area of stone paving has been recorded in an area where fairly intensive woodland clearance took place in the Late Mesolithic (Radley and Mellars 1964). It is possible that these elevated sites could have been favoured due to the extensive views they would have provided, allowing optimum observation of herd manoeuvres.

A body of evidence is now present which implies an active Mesolithic population involved with the local establishment of clearings through the utilisation of axes and fire. It appears that such methods relate to the quest for control over animal resources . The evidence suggests an ability to alter the natural environment in a purposeful manner, and complex models detailing human interaction with the environment are developing.

Recently Pollard ( 1999) has shown that a range of Mesolithic sites, including Downton , Wiltshire (Higgs 1959) and Thatcham, Berkshire (Wymer and Churchill 1962) display high-density scatters indicating 'successive occupations' at one locale. Such defined scatters are generally not a feature of Early Neolithic sites, and may point to the long commitment of a particular place. The 'occupation ' of an area may have been dictated by economic factors, perhaps in those areas where ' sedentary resources ' like marine molluscs were regularly available. In Ireland the sites of Mount Sandel, Co. Derry and Newferry, Co. Antrim indicate a continuum of activity based around the seasonal exploitation of various wild resources, and it has been suggested similar occupation may have existed at Oronsay in the Hebrides and at both Farnham and Bowman's Farm, Hampshire (Mellars 1987, Clark and Rankine 1939, Green 1996). The evidence from Farnham is thought to relate to the occupation of a treethrow hollow which may have been adapted with a postheld awning to create a structure within a 'naturallyformed' woodland opening (Evans et al 1999). If this is the case, field archaeologists should be careful not to automatically 'sign-off' tree-bowls as non-archaeological (ibid, Brown 1997). Further Mesolithic occupation has been identified at Williamson's Moss in the Eskmeals region of Cumbria (Bonsall et al 1988). Here tentative evidence has come to light of a structural complex associated with a stone pavement (ibid 186-7). The feature is of a type which has only been recorded at two other sites in the British Isles: Barsalloch in Wigtownshire and Dunford Bridge A in South Yorkshire (Cormack 1970, Radley et al 1974). Such features are found much more widely on the European mainland and are thought to relate to the integral parts of dwellings (Bonsall et al 1988 187).

Settlements and structures It is not the purpose of this section to review in detail Late Mesolithic settlement throughout the British Isles (for regional reviews see Wymer 1977, Woodman 1978, 1992, Zvelebil and Rowley-Conwy 1986, Bonsall (ed) 1988, Mellars (ed) 1978). Rather, I would like to examine the types of settlements and structures utilised by the Mesolithic population with the aim of identifying site variation which may have emerged toward the middle of the fifth millennium BC.

Previous work has shown that the population of Britain during the Late Mesolithic exploited a wide range of environments with the primary aim of benefiting their hunting and gathering lifestyles. Coastal and riverine sites were popular due to the rich and varied resources that the water and water edges provided. Sites such as Curran Point and Culhane, Co. Antrim (both on the River Bann), Cnoc Sligeach, Oronsay and Loch Davan, Aberdeenshire are all seen as settlements of a semi-permanent nature whose economy was based on the exploitation of marine resources (Woodman 1978, Mellars 1978a, Edwards 1989), whilst along the East Anglian fen edges and the margins of the Somerset Levels Mesolithic activity appears to be similarly widespread (Coles and Coles 1986, Hall and Coles 1994). Inland hunting sites appear to be no less common; the extensive distribution of Mesolithic axe forms in southern England is perhaps testimony to the coverage of a favourable landscape by hunting groups (Mellars and Reinhardt 1978 268, Edwards 1989 147). Inland clearances were probably extensive with the aim of attracting wild game for slaughter (see above). The uplands were by no means an ecological backwater in terms of their potential for Mesolithic activities. Recent surveys have shown widespread evidence for activity at altitudes above the 300m OD line, and research in W eardale alone has identified over ten such sites on the basis of lithic analysis (Coggins et al 1988). On Broomhead Moor in the Pennines (433m OD) excavation

It is perhaps in this context that the first recognisable houses appear in British prehistory. Although the evidence is open to speculation, these sites display structures which suggest a level of a permanence (Woodman 1978). Frequently used hearths and random scatters of post-holes are occasionally present , suggesting locations of a sedentary character. Morton, Fife (Coles 1983) and Lussa Wood on the Isle of Jura (Seawright1984) are two such sites. At Lussa Wood on the Isle of Jura environmental evidence suggests occupation on a permanent basis (Seawright 1984). Here was a curious set of contiguous stone rings

8

Cu/tigens and Domestic Livestock 5000-3500 BC These patterns find echoes elsewhere. In Ireland Michael 0 'Kelly suggested an indigenous development for the Neolithic court-tomb, sparked off perhaps by 'influences coming from Scotland and northern Britain amongst other places' (1981 118), whilst Paul Ashbee suggested that the Mesolithic shell-middens on the Scilly Isles may be linked with the megalithic passage graves prevalent across the regional landscape (1982 3.fJ). On Scilly there was considerable Mesolithic activity, with gathering on the sea shore, fishing, fowling and deer exploitation. There is also a body of evidence associated with Neolithic activity including data suggesting cultivation and livestock domestication. Ashbee's concern was that it was difficult to suggest a division between the two apparently different cultures. He suggested that a hunter-gatherer way of life was maintained on Scilly throughout much of prehistory as the rich resources available presented no reason for change. Chambered tomb development was viewed as a 'Mesolithic implantation', perhaps emerging through long distance contacts with north-west France. Here Mesolithic indigenes 'met and developed relationships' (ibid 18). To judge from plots of prehistoric dates throughout the British Isles there is certainly a considerable overlap in temporal terms of Mesolithic and Neolithic evidence (Aalen 1978, Williams 1989, Woodman 1986, Cherry and Cherry 1996).

dating from the seventh millennium BC. The date perhaps signifies the earliest stone structure located within the British Isles. The care with which the stone circles had been constructed seemed to indicate a 'permanent camp or one that was in regular use' (ibid 209). Seawright viewed the site as a 'cooking place', suggesting specialist consumption took place there. The suggestion of a site concerned with feasting in the Mesolithic is not unique. Tilley thought that the hearth evidence from the Suffolk site of Wangford, Oat Hill represented a location associated with 'cooking and roasting' and perhaps 'vegetable processing' (1979 41) and Spratt and Simmons (1976) saw the activities at Upleatham on the North Yorkshire coast as relating to 'food preparation'. Although not British examples, Schulting (1996), when studying the sites of Teviec and Hoedic, Brittany, discussed evidence for elaborate burial, ceremonial burning and feasting. The evidence led to suggestions of a society developing 'increasing complexity'. The recent excavations by Green and Allen of a Mesolithic shaft at Down Farm on Cranbome Chase, thought to be of human origin, indicates a level of social and community organisation rarely seen for this period (1997). The shaft suggests an episode of 'planned social activity' in an area which contains more extensive evidence of a Mesolithic presence than any other comparable chalkland in the British Isles (ibid 129, Arnold at al 1988). In this respect the occupation and activities at Down Farm, Lussa Wood, Wangford and other similar sites resembles more closely ideas of permanence associated with Neolithic concepts. Perhaps it is at sites such as these that archaeologists need to look for the origins of later traits which are generally associated with the Neolithic.

Mesolithic review The foregoing discussion represents the merest sketch of Late Mesolithic activity in Britain. It has attempted to highlight a number of sites which, for one reason or another, are at variance with the general body of data for the period. Their identification has enabled one to suggest the existence in pre-Neolithic times of items and ideas which are generally associated with the term Neolithic.

Megalith construction for burial has often been viewed as a Neolithic symbol. Certainly the majority of megalithic tombs excavated in Britain have been assigned to the Neolithic category (Darvill 1982, O'Kelly 1981). It is apparent, however, that hunter-gatherers had the capability and motivation to construct monuments whilst relying purely upon natural resources (Thomas J 1994 942, Guilaine 1998). Perhaps the limestone floor construction at Culverwell and the significant stone ring complex at Lussa Wood represent early forms of monument amongst hunter-gatherer societies. The individual burial at Culverwell was associated with a large build-up of stones and such graves may show similarities with the 'megalithic' burials of a Mesolithic date located in France and Spain (Bahn 1988 557, Guilaine (ed) 1998). At Roe del Migdia in the Spanish Pyrenees an individual burial of the Mesolithic was located in a rectangular structure of large slabs, surrounded by large hearths and similar burials are now known from the Abri Cornille region in France (Bahn 1988 558). Clearly features which have in the past been viewed as components of the 'Neolithic package' are now being recognised in secure Mesolithic contexts.

It is clear that people were capable of clearing areas of forest through felling and burning. Groups were positively modifying their environments to suit their economic requirements. Although short of true domestication, the indigenous population were practising herding techniques showing control over wild faunal resources. These two developments together enabled groups to be released, to an extent, from a totally mobile existence. Architectural techniques appear to have been utilised in the construction of burial monuments and settlement features, both suggesting a permanence with regard to occupation and a commitment to particular locales, some of which were visited repeatedly. There was a knowledge of exchange mechanisms which seems to have resulted in the local acquisition of foreign ideas and items; this perhaps led to the development of personal adornment. Finally, an appreciation of symbolism and perhaps a developed ritual belief system existed which indicates elements of social

9

Prefe"ed Economies

complexity. The feature which distinguishes the Mesolithic from the traditional picture of Neolithic life is the knowledge and utilisation of ceramics and cultigens. On the continent hunter-gatherers are known to have utilised pottery and it is perhaps only a matter of time before such finds are located in Mesolithic contexts within Britain (Rowley-Conwy 1983, Thomas 1999 7). Cultigens have also been recognised amongst hunting groups on the continent and the evidence in Britain is continually suggesting earlier and earlier contexts for cultivated species (Jacobsen 1981 303, Edwards 1989 143). Generally an early example of a cultivated form presses archaeologists and environmentalists alike to push back the 'inception of the Neolithic ', resulting in the familiar Mesolithic-Neolithic overlap; few have considered the possibility that, if anthropogenic at all, the cereal-type pollen may be the result of Late Mesolithic exploitation. This is not to deny that hunting and gathering techniques were of primary importance to the Late Mesolithic population during the early to mid fifth millennium BC. On the contrary, the apparent success of exploiting the rich and varied wild resources appears to have benefited the hunter-gatherers' lifestyle. Hayden (1990 31) mentioned the possibility of generalised and complex hunter-gatherer societies, both which may have existed side by side. It is the complex group which may have developed and adopted new ideas and techniques. Perhaps by keeping abreast of new inventions through their external contact certain 'ingroups' started processes of social and economic transformation. There is little room in this framework for an incoming population bringing new cultural elements to the British Isles. Rather, it is easier to recognise ideas arriving through processes of acculturation and exchange and being adopted by indigenous groups who, for one reason or another, were suited to absorb the new knowledge. How such knowledge was accepted and utilised may have varied in form from how it was used on the continent. In this respect one can perhaps see why cereal pollen and domestic remains are sometimes located within Late Mesolithic contexts although there is little, if any, evidence for true cultivation and farming. An agricultural regime perhaps did not emerge for a further millennium following initial introduction. What, therefore, were the early cultigens and domesticates acquired for? The answer lies within a detailed study of the economic base of the following millennium, a period traditionally known as the Early Neolithic.

Early Neolithic Concepts Ever since evidence for cultivation emerged which predated the ecological horizon known as the 'elm

decline', which is now detached from an inevitable anthropogenic cause, palaeo-environmentalists have tended to talk of an early, first or initial Neolithic (Kiister 1989, Smith 1981). Cerealea are always equated with the Neolithic way of life and a Mesolithic-Neolithic division appears to be a continuing theme in environmental papers. Similarly archaeologists talk of an earliest or pioneer Neolithic which has in the past marked the division. However, several more recent archaeological works have challenged these concepts and attempted to view change as something r.emoved from purely economic notions (Thomas 1991, 1999). In this instance the idea of a transitional period during the fifth millennium BC has lost its force, although archaeologists have often envisaged an overlap in temporal terms of Mesolithic and Neolithic cultures (Williams 1989, Woodman 1986, Cherry and Cherry 1996). The foregoing discussion erodes the division further. The developing framework points to indigenous development along the lines of knowledge acquisition and foreign interaction. The following section will therefore follow the suggested development of those groups who display complexity during this period. This was a time when evidence for cultivation and livestock domestication apparently increased and a settled lifestyle based on permanent occupation emerged. As outlined, the Mesolithic data show a population geared to the successful exploitation of wild food resources. Reserves appear to have been plentiful and it has been indicated that certain groups were able to indulge in specialist activities removed from the general procedures of hunting and gathering. What, therefore, might have provided the motivation for groups to obtain cultigens and domestic livestock? In answering this question it will be necessary to consider the context of the evidence relating to domestic floral and faunal remains. It will also be necessary to review the traditional picture of a settled way of life which has too often been accepted for the Neolithic .

The evidence of settlements As with the Mesolithic, evidence of permanent settlement in the Early Neolithic has always been elusive. It is generally thought to have existed, as it is often believed an agricultural way of life necessitates a settled existence. Megaw and Simpson believe archaeologists have been ' searching in the wrong places ', and Fowler stated that elements of this settled life will 'eventually turn up' (Megaw and Simpson 1979 86, Fowler 1981 39). Edwards challenged archaeologists to find early agricultural settlements so that they could be equated with his evidence for early cereal grains (1988a 264). The problem is clear: the equation of cerealea and other domesticates with a settled way of life. The following sections aim to challenge these assumptions.

Cultigens and Domestic Livestock 5000-3500 BC evidence for weathering or the build-up of silt (Thomas 1999 64-5).

Evidence for settled occupation comes in many forms, and has most-recently been associated with the trunks and 'treebowls' of fallen trees (Evans et al 1999, Brown 1997). Indeed, excavation on the Nene floodplain identified over thirty Neolithic tree throw-pits each containing artifacts and evidence of burning (McPhail and Goldberg 1990), and a number of hollows left by fallen trees close to the Drayton cursus in the Upper Thames Valley were seen to contain deposits of charcoal associated with Peterborough Wares (Barclay et al forthcoming). Brown (1997) believes such evidence to represent the opportunistic use of clearings created by natural factors, such as wind-throw, river erosion or landsliding.

The actual contents of these pits are rather interesting. Occasionally grain has been located, as at The Stumble on the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, the Coneybury pit in Wiltshire, the Hembury Camp pits in Devon and the Rowden pit grouping in Dorset (Murphy 1989, Richards 1990, Liddell 1935, Moffett et al 1989). The general low levels appear to represent 'waste from food preparation or the accidental burning of crops during processing activities' (ibid 245), but the large quantities present at Hembury may have resulted from unexpected, or perhaps deliberate burning in a single event. However, in all instances there does not appear to be a close similarity with the large bell-shaped storage pits of the Iron Age (Entwistle and Grant 1989 204). The primary constituents of Neolithic pits appear to be faunal assemblages which often appear to have been incorporated in a burnt state. The King Barrow Ridge pits near Stonehenge contained pig foot bones, whilst those at Black Patch, Vale of Pewsey accommodated predominantly pig jaw bones and the Coneybury Hill henge pit contained bones of domestic cattle together with ceramic sherds representing containers (Thomas 1999 72, Richards 1990). Occasionally wild food resources have been located, as at Hemp Knoll and in the later Neolithic levels at the so-called West Kennet Avenue 'settlement', both in Wiltshire (Robertson-Mackay 1980, Whittle 1991a). The inclusion of human remains is also a feature in many of these early pits. Those at Pangbourne, Berkshire contained fragments of human skeletons associated with Early Neolithic decorated pottery (Piggott 1929) whilst in pits at Sutton Courtenay (Leeds 1934), South Lodge (Pitt Rivers 1898) and Nethercourt Farm (Dunning 1966) skeletal parts were variously found associated with stone axes, flint tools and evidence of burning. The contents of these pits suggest special concerns associated with feasting and consumption, perhaps for a birth, a marriage or a death.

Settlement sites have, however, been most commonly inferred from the discovery of pits, often unassociated with other structures, and the variety of forms appears almost endless (Field et al 1964). Occasionally pit groupings within the perimeter of causewayed enclosures have been associated with settlement as at Crickley Hill, Gloucestershire, Carn Brea, Cornwall, Orsett, Essex and Hambledon Hill, Dorset, and perhaps it is this suggestion which has created the apparent concentration of settlement sites in southern and south-eastern England (Dixon 1988, Mercer 1974, 1980, Hedges and Buckley 1978). Causewayed enclosures are generally viewed as special sites, however, and therefore atypical. Certainly the ceramics recovered from pits on enclosures are not considered to be domestic in character and, like burial sites, they appear to be on land which is environmentally marginal (Bradley 1978 103). In this respect the sites were perhaps peripheral to settlement, performing functions at the 'interface of environmental regimes' (ibid). A widely accepted view is that late fifth millennium BC pit features were intended, like Iron Age pits, for grain storage and therefore represented a settled way of life (Smith 1964 367). A single function for the wide variety of forms, however, is unlikely. Healy ( 1984 87) indicated that a large number of the pits are 'so irregular that they might more plausibly have been dug for the extraction of sand, gravel or relatively unweathered flint', whilst Thomas (1999 64) showed that many southern examples relate to the purposeful deposition of deposits of rubbish.

It is rather unsatisfactory to infer permanent settlement from the evidence of pits. In the past one of the major indications of an arable economy and permanent settlement has been the recognition of pits thought to have contained grain. That the majority appear to have performed other functions than storage forces us to reconsider not only the nature of Neolithic settlement patterning but also the nature of the arable economy during this period. Certainly the first pits which are suitable for grain storage do not appear in the record for a further three millennia, a time when other indications of arable activity, such as field systems and agricultural implements, emerge.

Further north, Early Neolithic structured and non-utilitarian deposition in pits has been identified at Y eavering, Northumberland, Llandegai B, Caernarvonshire, Balfarg, Fife, North Mains, Perthshire, Kirkburn, Dumfriesshire and Bannockburn, Stirlingshire (Harding 1987, Barclay and Russell-White 1993, Cowie 1992, Cormack 1963, Tavener 1987). Certainly most pits on these sites appear too shallow to have been used for grain storage and are again more plausibly for surface flint or stone extraction, or represent special features associated with ceremonial complexes. Those with 'specialist refuse concentrations' are often too shallow for the storage of grain and excavators often suggest a final phase of 'rapid backfilling' with little

Other evidence is provided by the identification of early house plans. Early Neolithic communities are assumed to have lived in houses, and such buildings have been inferred from a range of excavations throughout the British Isles. Indeed, a recent monograph (Darvill and Thomas (eds)

11

Preferred Economies 1996) is solely devoted to the discussion of 'Neolithic houses'. It has been argued such structures exist beneath the cairns at Ballyglass , Co. Mayo, Ascott-under Wychwood, Oxfordshire and Sale's Lot long barrow , Gloucestershire (0 Nuallain 1972, Selkirk 1971, O'Neil 1966). In addition to these sites, 'houses' have been recorded at Balbridie (Aberdeenshire), Balfarg (Fife), Eilean Domhnuill (W estem Isles), at Lismore Field (in the Wye Valley near Buxton), at a coastal site near Ballygalley Bay (Co . Antrim), at Padholm Road (Fengate ), at Strettonon-Fosse and Barford (both in Warwickshire), at Gorhambury (Hertfordshire) , at Mill Street in Driffield (Humberside) , Chigborough Farm, Maldon, and The Stumble, Blackwater (both in Essex), at Haldon (Devon) , Willington (Derbyshire) , Clegyr Boia (Dyfed) and Y amton (Oxfordshire) (Fairweather and Ralston 1993, Barclay and Russell-White 1993, Armit and Finlayson 1992, Garton 1991, Simpson 1993, Pryor 1974, Gardiner et al 1980, Oswald 1969, Neal et al 1990, Darvill 1996, Adkins and Adkins 1991, Wilkinson and Murphy 1995, Wallis and Waughman forthcoming, Griffith 1995, Wheeler 1979, Williams 1953, Hey 1997). It is clear, however , that apart from Lismore Field, Balfarg, Ballygalley, Eilean Domhnuill and perhaps Balbridie and Clegyr Boia none of these examples appear to predate the Middle Neolithic and as a group they do not seem to belong to one structural tradition.

two-post constructions bounded by an elongated fence arrangement. That they are in an area where no clear evidence of domestic activity survives it is argued that they represent 'physically defined spaces ' associated with ceremonial activities . It is further indicated that they had a function in the disposal of the dead , 'perhaps associated with the treatment of corpses prior to final burial' (ibid 178). If they do represent the practice of excamation they may, like the site at Ballygalley , be regional variations of mortuary enclosures. The recent excavation s at Balbridi e (Fairweather and Ralston 1993) and Lismore Fields , Buxton (Garton 1991) add further evidence of a specialist function at these sites. At Balbridie a substantial timber building was constructed between 3100 and 2700 be, being reminiscent of a 'timber hall '. To date, the massive building has no excavated parallel , either for scale or construction . It is located on the coastal plain of north-east Scotland , which incidentally has some of the best agricultural land in Scotland , but no other known sites of domestic architecture of the period exist in the region (see Barclay 1996). The large quantities of carbonised plant remains suggest a site concerned with food storage rather than occupation. Indeed, to a largely mobile society such a building no doubt acted as a significant locale for meeting and gathering. Garton's excavations at Lismore Fields, Buxton , identified two post-built rectangular buildings with associated pits, indicating activity over an extensive area. Grimston-type ceramics were located throughout the buildings' post-holes and a polished Group VI stone axe flake was recovered from a beam slot. Further Grimston wares were located in pits around the buildings as was a complete Group VI axe and several struck flakes of crystal. The distinctive assemblages are clearly of a similar character to those recovered from the more elaborate sites of the period such as causewayed enclosures and long barrow monuments.

The excavations carried out by Simpson at the Ballygalley site led him to suggest that the structural remains related to something of a specific and special character (1996). The material recovered suggested a complex 'too great ... to be a straight-forward dwelling house' (1993 62). The amount of struck flint and evidence for the working of igneous rocks indicated a site concerned partly with production . Exchange also appears to have taken place, as Scottish pitchstone was recovered from many contexts in substantial quantities, as were several fragments of Group VI axes known to have derived from the Langdale region of Cumbria. Ceramic sherds were prolific, relating to several phases of activity, and a large amount of grain was apparently stored at the site, although processing waste was absent in the grain from the house itself (ibid 60). The data suggest a site concerned with production, as well as the acquisition of 'exotic imported stones' (ibid 62). Although termed a house, the remains point to a site concerned with exchange of prestige goods, and the recent suggestion that the arrangement may in fact be enclosed by a ditch lends support to these ideas. Simpson implied that as a feature it may be more akin to the causewayed enclosures of England (ibid 62) .

In addition a rich variety of charred plant remains were recovered , and emmer wheat grains and flax were associated with both of the buildings (Garton 1991 17). It is thought that the wheat grain was imported. Of further significance were two lines of large post-holes radiating away from the buildings at right angles (ibid 13). They do not appear to have formed fence lines 'since intermediate posts were not recovered' and they may have been 'freestanding timbers' erected for visual effect. The site is positioned on a plateau between two rivers at the junction of the millstone grit and limestone . This position perhaps represented a significant focus in the landscape. Linear arrangements of posts and stones are known from several Neolithic sites, but rarely are they associated with occupation, unless of a temporary nature. Indeed, the excavations of Early Neolithic post-holes and stake alignments at Sandyford Quarry , Northumberland (Waddington and Davies 1998) were described as 'the frame for a substantial tent, rather than that of a timber house' . It is important that the excavators state that the

The plans of two timber structures were identified at Balfarg which at first sight appear to relate to house structures (Barclay and Russell-White 1993). The excavators state, however, that there is clear evidence that the arrangement represents 'free-standing two-post settings operating independently of each other ' (ibid 175). Indeed it appears that the Balfar g structures were an accreti on of 12

Cultigens and Domestic Livestock 5000-3500 BC although not securely dated, relate to a range of 'limited activities' perhaps not relating to organised structure. Indeed the evidence tended to suggest limited activity unassociated with permanent occupation. Moreover, the location of certain lithic forms relates to the site where they were manufactured or distributed and not necessarily to where they were utilised.

remains represented 'a seasonal encampment for a herding group' (ibid 49). Further evidence for settlement patterning comes in the form of lithic scatters. Thomas talks of the 'density of settlement' in the A vebury region on the basis of lithic remains coupled with monument concentration (1991 163) and Drewett has suggested that areas of flintwork could have acted as settlement foci (1977 3). The equation of lithic scatters with settlement, however, is a difficult issue to measure. It is also clear that high-density scatters are a more common feature on certain Mesolithic sites, such as Downton, Wiltshire (Higgs 1959) and are generally not a feature of Early Neolithic sites (Pollard 1999 82).

It is true that flint styles altered throughout the fifth and early fourth millennia and this undoubtedly suggests a changing emphasis upon resource exploitation. It is rarely suggested, however, that typical Mesolithic forms relate to anything other than a mobile hunting and gathering existence. Simply because it has been assumed that the Neolithic population of Britain existed within a mixed farming economy, it should not be supposed that Neolithic flint forms relate to such activities. In this context it is important to note that a number of Mesolithic blades show micro-wear traces which are comparable to those found on later flint sickles (Domanska 1988 447).

Certainly flint working suggests activity but it is difficult to say much about it. Certain flint forms have been equated with particular activities, but the inferences rest upon considerable conjecture (Keeley 1980). At Rolls Farm (Blackwater Site 18), Essex an 'abundance of flint' with scatters of pottery led Wilkinson and Murphy (1995 71) to suggest 'the richest habitation site' in the course of their survey. Features were not present, however, and it had to be concluded that 'it is impossible to determine whether the dense scatter ... resulted from in situ occupation' (ibid 76). Further scatters noted at The Stumble (Site 28) again indicated intense activity, but such activity is not typical of the period. Associated with the flints were Mildenhall wares; ceramics not considered to be domestic at this early date. Mildenhall wares were also recovered from Sites 1, 8 and 9; the types recovered being reminiscent of the assemblages discovered at the Orsett and Springfield Lyons causewayed enclosures (Hedges and Buckley 1978, Buckley 1991, 1992, Brown 1997).

Middens in Scotland have always been viewed as Mesolithic sites (Mellars 1978a). Where ceramics have been excavated authors have tended to discuss the later reuse of the same sites by Neolithic groups (Bonsall et al 1988). It is possible, however, that such evidence relates to the continuing utilisation of a site beyond the period generally termed Mesolithic (Armit and Finlayson 1992). At Ulva Cave for instance Neolithic pottery was recovered from within the top deposits of a shell midden and at Kinloch, Rhum recent excavations identified a wealth of ceramic sherds which could not be disassociated from the recognisable Mesolithic deposits (Bonsall et al 1988, Wickham-Jones 1990). At both sites it was not possible to distinguish two periods and perhaps here are settlement sites which were utilised during both the Mesolithic and the Neolithic without a noticeable break. Interestingly the use of shell middens as funerary constructions may anticipate elements of the chambered tomb tradition (Pollard 1990).

At The Stumble several post holes indicated occupation, but Wilkinson and Murphy agree that the site may have served as a 'working area' (1995 80). It is 'difficult to draw the line between settlement and non-settlement' say the authors, and it is generally 'difficult to view these scatters as anything but background noise' (ibid 215). Permanent occupation sites have not been identified and there is 'no reason to assume that ... sites would have remained static and continuously occupied'. At many sites activity is little different from that recognised during the Mesolithic; we do not have to envisage a radical change in society or its economic base. The flint groupsfrom some of the Essex coastal sites are of a quality one would not expect from an occupation site. At Thames Site 2, Purfleet, polished axes, chisels, flint saws and butchered ox bone pointed to activity of a 'specialised' nature, not necessarily associated with settlement.

Pollard examined the role of shell middens in western Scotland and saw them as Mesolithic with later activity restricted to funerary ritual. Connoch et al ( 1992) also discussed the coincidental occurrence of later burials overlying Mesolithic deposits, as at Carding Mill Bay I. Whilst a number of Neolithic burials have been located within middens in caves, it appears likely that the 'cave itself is more akin to a chambered tomb' rather than the midden (Armit and Finlayson 1992 669). Saville and Hallen (1994), however, have shown that human bones from the Mesolithic sites of MacArthur Cave, Ohan, form a 'coherent chronological grouping within the first millennium BC'.

Working upon lithic distributions throughout Ireland, Green and Zvelebil suggested that most debris relates to non-diagnostic manufacturing activities and provides little evidence to indicate permanent occupation (1990 66). Research by Peterson (1990 97), concluded that the majority of lithic assemblages from south-eastern Ireland,

Permanent occupation is very difficult to identify. Although evidence for a settled way of life is present on the continent one should not assume that a similar pattern existed throughout the British Isles. Certainly the picture

13

Preferred Economies

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Location of sites throughout Scotland (for individual site descriptions see appendices section)

14

Cultigens and Domestic Livestock 5000-3500 BC

of a settled way of life with the population residing in established dwellings does not appear to be the situation for the British Early Neolithic. The available evidence more plausibly suggests a settlement pattern involving transient camps of no great duration. In that case it may be more appropriate to pursue an analogy with the situation in the Netherlands and think in terms of 'residential mobility' (Louwe-Kooijmans 1993 90).

prominence (see Bradley 1984 15.ff)or why architectural features developed as they did (see Bradley 1993, Thomas 1999 34.ff). This discussion is concerned with the development and utilisation of domestic cultigens and animals at a time when society appears to be predominantly involved with elaborate monuments and the importance of ancestors.

Enclosure monuments

The curious monuments known as causewayed enclosures have created a wealth of debate (Renfrew 1973, Smith 1971, Wilson 1975, Thomas 1991, 1999, Bradley 1993, Edmonds 1999). Once thought to be confined to hills on the chalklands they are now known to be more widely distributed, being present on high lands, lower ground, on river terraces and on the slopes of valleys. Each year new examples are added to the growing list revealing a frequency and distribution greater than previously believed. Numerous interpretations of these sites have been put forward, including settlement sites, exchange centres, excamation grounds and cattle enclosures. Such a variety of explanations forced several authors to view the monuments as no more than a 'constructional technique' which could be utilised for a range of activities (Mercer 1980 65). Thomas pointed out, however, that the majority of these hypotheses assume that the enclosures are central to existing settlement systems, when in reality they are at the edges of the exploited landscape (1999 40, Bradley 1978 103).

Monumental achievements '..architecture is an act of communication, a message, of which the parts or the whole can perform the double action of every communication, connotation and denotation. ' Umberto Eco, A Theory of Expositions, 1987 296

Earth and stone monuments of a variety of forms constitute the most substantial trace of Early Neolithic activity. The most common monument is undoubtedly the long barrow which appears on present evidence to enter the record sometime during the mid fourth millennium BC (Bradley 1984 7, Kinnes 1992). Perhaps the more enigmatic features, however, are the causewayed enclosures which appear at broadly the same time. The evidence of burial clearly reveals a concern with the dead and the importance of ancestry (ibid 6). Perhaps this has led archaeologists to consider the remaining monuments as constructions for the living, possibly associated with settlement (Dixon 1981, 1988, Mercer 1974).

Although several enclosure sites contain an assortment of pits such as at Cam Brea, Cornwall, Hambledon Hill, Dorset and Orsett and Springfield Lyons, Essex, the majority do not (Mercer 1974, 1980, Hedges and Buckley 1978, Drewett 1977, Buckley 1991, 1992). In this respect, there may exist a division between those sites with internal pit features and those without. A popular suggestion has been to review the enclosures with pits and post-holes as 'special settlement locations' where some form of internal structural arrangement existed (Bradley 1984 32). Thomas, and others, have shown, however, that the deposits contained by the pits appear to be specific and relate to similar deposits located in the ditches of the enclosures (Thomas 1999 64-74, Brown 1997 89). Both pits and ditches can perhaps be viewed as comparable facets relating to the function of these sites.

Traditional models see the colonisation of Britain and Ireland as displacing an indigenous population of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. This is thought to be why material culture of European inspiration emerged in the archaeological record, consisting of the elaborate monument types outlined above, together with domestic crops and livestock. The economic evidence has led to suggestions of a 'regime of cereal and livestock farming' with a settlement pattern consisting of 'dispersed farmsteads' (Bradley 1984 7-9). Clearly this was far removed from the settlement pattern associated with early to middle fifth millennium BC populations. These models placed considerable emphasis on the development of agriculture and saw the Neolithic as an economic phenomenon. The characteristics of the Early Neolithic, however, appeared at variance with this picture. Settlement evidence for the period is clearly lacking and a mobile population can perhaps be envisaged. This clearly does not equate well with an image of settled mixed farming. The following section indicates the primary contexts of domestic floral and faunal remains; the evidence on which the agricultural model rests. For this purpose an analysis of the period's monumental constructions is vital. It is not the purpose of this chapter to determine the reasons why the dead assumed such

At this stage several points are clear. The enclosure sites appear to be marginal monuments, which do not seem to have been settlements. It is also cle¥ that the deposits contained within their pits and ditches are of a special character and perhaps relate to the functions of this category of monument. It is these deposits which are of primary concern in this section. Ceramics of a non-local origin are located within the pits

15

Preferred Economies

Hill the ditches again held the remains of what appeared to be 'bagged' animal bones together with deposits of 'organic material'. Cattle skull burials were also noted and these were interred with the associated foot bones (Mercer 1980 30). The Maiden Castle excavations located conspicuous evidence of the purposeful deposition of cattle skulls within the causewayed ditches and these were occasionally associated with human skeletal material (Wheeler 1943). At Whitesheet Hill cattle were seen to have been of particular significance due to their skulls being positioned throughout the enclosure ditches (Grigson 1981 197), and at the Staines enclosure domesticated sheep skulls were recovered in one of the ditch terminals (Robertson-Mackay 1987).

and ditches of many causewayed enclosures. This is certainly the case at Windmill Hill, Knap Hill, Springfield Lyons, Maiden Castle and Hembury. Such imported artifacts were undoubtedly special in society and although their presence upon the enclosure sites led certain authors to postulate a redistributive function for the sites (Smith 1971) their quantities suggest that they were actually used there; if they were involved within an exchange mechanism then surely the majority would have been removed (Drewett 1977 224). Flint tools are a further artifact type represented on the enclosure sites. Scrapers are particularly common, as they are in the majority of Neolithic contexts (Bradley 1984 26). Of greater interest is the high incidence of denticulate forms (Thomas 1999 41). The two styles together perhaps relate to activities associated with some form of food preparation relating to the skinning of animal carcasses and the cutting up of meat and vegetable matter. It is perhaps not coincidental that a number of the enclosure sites coincide with lithic sources, as at Hambledon Hill, Maiden Castle, Oftham and Carn Brea (Care 1982 269.f/). These deposits were perhaps utilised for the acquisition of tools necessary for use on site, but it is also thought that the raw material could have been important in exchange (Bradley 1984 27).

Deposits of vegetable matter have also been recovered from pits and ditches of causewayed enclosures. Perhaps the floral remains most commonly recovered are deposits of domesticated cereals. At Hembury a macro-fossil deposit of charred grain was identified as one of three cereal types: em.merwheat (Triticum dicoccum), naked sixrow barley (Hordeum vulgare var nudum) or hulled sixrow barley (Hordeum vulgare) (Helbaek 1952). A single sample of spelt wheat (Triticum spelta) was also recovered which represents an unusual find this early in prehistory. Its discovery perhaps indicates the occurrence of a rare crop which was not commonly available during the Neolithic (Hillman 1981 187). At Briar Hill enclosure several cereal grains were discovered during excavations, but only one grain was clearly identifiable (Bamford 1985), and at the Etton enclosure carbonised grain was recognised, but only occurred very sparsely (Pryor et al 1985). Perhaps the discovery of a single grape pip (Vitis vinifera) from the Stepleton enclosure represents a find analogous to the spelt wheat sample from Hembury (Jones and Legge 1987 452). They both represent rare occurrences and it can be no coincidence that their associations are with causewayed enclosures.

Transactions could have taken on many forms. Edmonds (1999) talks of the exchange of artifacts and animals, but significantly includes 'social transactions' of alliance, marriage and even rites of death. Skeletal remains are certainly an important feature of the ditches and pits of many enclosures (Mercer 1974, 1980, Avery 1982, Robertson-Mackay 1987), and excavations at the Staines enclosure, Maiden Castle, Oftham enclosure, Hambledon Hill and Orsett have recovered numerous broken pieces of human bone of males, females and children, suggesting a close association with ancestral rites (Robertson-Mackay 1962, Sharples 1991, Mercer 1980, Hedges and Buckley 1978). On some sites burials represented by the entire skeleton have been found, often in the enclosure ditches, whilst on other sites there are the deposition of only certain parts of the body. The presence of such remains has in the past led to suggestions of excarnation and other dealings with the dead. In this respect causewayed enclosures have been viewed as constructions for the dead or the ancestors rather than for the living.

Further identifications of vegetable remains associated with enclosure ditches have occurred in the form of wild species. At most sites hazelnut, crab apple, blackberry, sloe and hawthorn are attested. At Hambledon Hill deposits of unidentifiable 'organic material' were recovered, implying the careful placing within the ditch of some variety of vegetable matter (Mercer 1980 30), whilst at the Abingdon enclosure organic residue was uncovered suggesting that baskets of similar material were being deposited (Avery 1982 17). The discovery of such deposits is clearly important as floral remains are so rarely preserved upon archaeological sites. They may be severely under represented.

The principal remains in the pits and ditches are animal bones mainly those of domesticated species. During the excavation of the Etton enclosure in Cambridgeshire 'bundles of cattle ribs' were located associated with fragments of birch bark and complete pots (Pryor et al 1985 293). Similar evidence was recovered from the Windmill Hill enclosure in the form of 'bagged' cattle bone deposits in the ditches. Also recovered were the remains of a child's skull associated with the juvenile cranium of an ox (Whittle 1988 2, 1990). At Hambledon

The location of cerealea led early researchers to envisage causewayed enclosures as a type of settlement or redistribution site performing an economic function (Smith 1971). It is apparent, however, that these monuments represent features of importance in the landscape which

16

Cultigens and Domestic Livestock 5000-3500 BC

The remains of domestic animals within the archaeological record of the earlier Neolithic motivated researchers to envisage an emerging farming economy based around pastoral and arable farming. The contexts of the remains are of considerable importance to the understanding of these deposits. As Thomas so rightly perceives, 'what one fmds in a faunal assemblage depends upon where one gets it from' (Thomas 1999 26). It has always been evident that the primary context for animal remains in the Neolithic has been ceremonial or mortuary. Although predominantly excavated during the last century, the burial monuments of central and western England exemplify the nature of domesticated remains present upon this type of site.

had a special significance (Thomas 1999 43). The recovery of exotic artifacts from the enclosure ditches is perhaps testimony of the distinctive nature of the sites. Similarly, the animal bones and plants from these contexts may assume an added significance.

Burial structures The conspicuous character of the long barrows suggests a communal concern for the dead (Bradley 1984 15). Similar burial techniques were adopted by certain huntergatherer societies, but the sheer scale of the long barrow tradition suggests that this form of monumental expression was most popular toward the end of the fifth millennium BC and throughout the fourth. It is not the purpose of this chapter to discuss the social and economic mechanisms behind the burial customs of the Neolithic (see Thomas 1988 540, 1991 103, Bradley 1984 15.ff, Chapman et al 1981, Edmonds 1999 56-67), but rather to consider the importance of the contexts associated with them. Mortuary ritual clearly had a crucial role to play in Neolithic society. Considerable communal resources were undoubtedly mustered to construct monuments and thereafter groups appear to have taken part in rites of passage for the deceased. It is apparent that only a select part of the Neolithic population received this form of elaborate burial. All associations with this monumental tradition, therefore, should be considered carefully.

At Beckhampton Road long barrow in Wiltshire, excavation revealed three cattle skulls beneath the mound, within one of several 'bays' running along the axis of the barrow (Ashbee et al 1979 247). Similar patterns of deposition were recognised at Fussell' s Lodge and Amesbury 14 and 42, all within Wiltshire. At Fussell's Lodge an ox hide with skull and feet was located within the burial chamber, whilst further cattle bones were placed along the axis of the flint cairn covering the burials (Ashbee 1966 48.D). At Amesbury 14 the skull and feet of an ox were present, as were the bones representing the meat-rich portions of the carcass, whilst at Amesbury 42 three cattle were represented by the familiar skull and feet assemblage (Ashbee 1970). Among the burial associations at Heytesbury and Sherrington I were the carefully positioned remains of numerous cattle bone fragments. At the proximal end of the Heytesbury mound and 'presumably associated with the burial complex, the head and horns of seven or more oxen' were located (ibid). At Tilshead 5 long barrow, Wiltshire, very few artifacts were recovered during excavation, but a notable addition to the burial were several skulls of oxen (ibid). Further remains of domesticated cattle were made at the West Kennet long barrow, Wiltshire, Wor Barrow, Dorset, Lamboum Barrow, Berkshire, Abingdon barrow, Oxfordshire, Nutbane long barrow, Hampshire and throughout many of the Cotswold-Severn tombs in Gloucestershire (Clarke 1962, Grigson 1981, Bradley et al 1984, Wymer 1965, Ashbee 1970, Thomas 1988).

Several recurrent elements can be recognised in the study of Neolithic mortuary ritual. Following the construction of the monument, distinct phases of 'forecourt activity' can be recognised which perhaps preceded any burial on the site. This activity was associated with the utilisation of a range of artifact styles, including exotic ceramics, stone axes, fine flintwork including blade forms and arrowheads, together with items of personal adornment such as beads. Clearly these associations reflect a concern with items of distinction. A further common activity was the distinct patterning of skeletal material. For example at West Kennet male skulls were placed within an end chamber whilst infant bones were placed elsewhere, and at Lanhill long barrow it appears that the jaws of certain individuals were swapped (Piggott 1962, Keiller and Piggott 1938). These curious actions undoubtedly represented significant procedures relating to ancestral celebration. A final point is that many such burials are associated with faunal remains, especially domestic cattle and pig. These remains have often been identified with ritual practices of feasting and consumption; certainly on many sites there is evidence of burning (Thomas 1999 142). As with the deposits located within the causewayed enclosure ditches, these associations relate positively to the structures where they are found. In other words, the ancillary deposits located on long barrow monuments have a special significance due to their contexts. It is this final category of deposit which is of importance to the present discussion.

Beyond the region of south-central England the association of cattle remains with burial continues. Within the earthen barrow of Willerby Wold in Eastern Yorkshire only six bones of domesticated animal were found, and all were seen to be cattle (Bramwell 1963), whilst at Giants' Hill, Skendleby, Lincolnshire a complete ox skeleton was associated with several other domestic forms (Ashbee 1970, Jones 1998). Cattle were also seen to dominate the faunal assemblages at Kilham long barrow in the East Riding of Yorkshire, at Crosby Garrett barrow, Westmorland, Cumbria and within a number of Scottish tombs, including Isbister (Bramwell 1976, Ashbee 1970, Henshall 1972, Hedges 1983). The association of this early domesticate with burials was indeed a wide-spread

17

Preferred Economies

independent ongm, perhaps derived from Mesolithic or even advanced Palaeolithic sources' (ibid).

phenomenon. Although of a later date, the presence of 184 domestic cattle skulls within the exotic burial at Irthlingborough Barrow, Northamptonshire, clearly indicates that this practice continued to be favoured amongst the elite beyond the Neolithic (Davis and Payne 1993).

This section has shown that in an Early Neolithic context domestic floral and faun.al remains appear to be primarily represented at enclosures and mortuary constructions . It is also apparent that these specific sites contain further groups of material of an exotic nature . It is clear that the character of the monuments shed considerable light upon the distinctiveness of the associated material remains. Furthermore it is clear that settlements of a permanent character do not appear to be widely present throughout the fifth and early fourth millennia and this has led to the suggestion of a more mobile way of life. This is the time to consider the evidence relating to Early Neolithic clearance. Due to the weakness of the traditional model it is important to question the idea that the Neolithic landscape was predominantly open.

Although less conspicuous, bones of other domestic species have been recovered from long barrows. The skeletal remains of sheep were recovered from the Lambourn, Nutbane and Whiteleaf barrows, whilst pig bones were present at Whiteleaf barrow, Buckinghamshire , Crosby Garrett, Cumbria and Julliberrie's Grave, Kent (Ashbee 1970 159). Pig dominated the assemblages at Hanging Grimston, Yorkshire , where the jaw bones of at least twenty were discovered associated with the human remains (Mortimer 1905), and this species was apparently a popular inclusion within the confines of the Therfield Heath long barrow , Hertfordshire , Thickthom Down barrow , Dorset and within both Quantemess and Isbister, Orkney (Stevenson pers comm, Barrett et al 1991, Hedges 1983, Renfrew 1979).

Clearances in the woodland Although the woodland environment of the British Isles was exploited by Mesolithic groups, it has been popular belief that the developing Neolithic population turned the wildscape into open land (Pennington 1975, Mitchell 1972, Smith 1984, Darvill 1987). Vast clearances were apparently necessary for the development of agriculture which was thought to have replaced hunting and gathering techniques as the main subsistence base. Inroads into the forests were supposedly made in an attempt to tame the wild. The newly opened tracts were utilised for the grazing of domesticated livestock and for the growth of cereal crops . The influence of Neolithic man was considered 'impressive' and in many regions, edaphic depletion has been seen as a consequence of the developing economy (Darvill 1987, Whittle 1978, Pennington 1975, Moore 1973). These views need attention, for the preceding sections have illustrated that during the mid to late fifth millennium BC, society continued to favour a lifestyle based around mobility rather than sedentism.

Wild species were by no means uncommon, though generally appear to be less well represented. At Amesbury 14 the 'entire skeleton of a goose' was recovered, whilst at Knook 2, Sherrington I, Tilshead 5 and Wor Barrow stag's horns and deer antlers were present (Ashbee 1970 159-60). Indeed, numerous other wild species are represented from the majority of long barrow excavations, including boar (Sus scrofa L.), grouse (Lagopus scoticus), water-vole (Arvicola terrestris /.), pine martin (Martes martes L.), badger (Me/es me/es L.), red deer (Cervus elaphus L.), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), dog (Canis) and fox (Vulpes vulpes L.). Interestingly at Whitegrounds barrow, Yorkshire, a child burial was located in association with an 'aged fox, probably a pet' (Brewster 1984 328). At Horslip Barrow, Wiltshire a clear distinction between wild and domestic forms appears to have been recognised, the spatial organisation of the assemblages appearing to be significant with deposits of cattle bones being largely confined to the distal ends of the barrow ditches (Ashbee 1979 et al 214).

The primary source of evidence for the inference of prehistoric clearance comes from stratified pollen sequences. Further detail can be obtained through the examination of fossil molluscan assemblages and from the study of sequential alluvial and colluvial deposits. The limitations of all these methods have been well published (Edwards 1979, 1993, 1998, Carter 1990, Needham and Macklin 1992). When environmental evidence is discovered in conjunction with archaeological remains there exists great potential for conducting an interdisciplinary programme of research. The deposits sealed beneath barrows, in graves, at the bottom of pits, in natural settlement depressions , and so forth, have a direct interpretative significance in the framework of archaeological analysis (Berglund 1985, Madsen 1985).

The burial monuments of the mid to late fifth millennium BC were significant facets of a complex and developing society . As with causewayed enclosures, they were sites of a special nature where important activities appear to have taken place . The artifactual associations reflect a concern with exotica and these items seem to represent elements in the transitional stages of human interment. The faunal remains certainly appear to form an integral part of this process and can similarly be viewed as exclusive deposits. Piggott ' s review of 'head and hoof assemblages associated with burial sites in prehistory indicated that the southern British examples predated recognised continental instances (1962 118). In this case Piggott believed that for the recognised rite 'we must be dealing with a wholly

18

Cultigens and Domestic Livestock 5000-3500 BC

palaeo-environmental information and contain preserved pollen data necessary for the 'elucidation of local vegetation succession and [for] the understanding of the nature of anthropogenic activities on the surrounding areas' (ibid). Early writers looked toward the advanced research being conducted on the Neolithic in Denmark, especially the pioneering work of Iversen (1949), and similarly envisaged a period of Early Neolithic land clearance which was thought to relate to the development of early farming communities (Turner 1970, Smith 1970, Smith, R W 1984). It is vital, however, to consider the British evidence on its own merit and not to discuss development as a mirror image of continental activities.

Pollen analysis has an advantage over other methods of environmental study in that long, continuous and often well-dated sequences may be obtained. It is often difficult, however, to measure the impact of local activity, which is perhaps better reflected in the study of macrofossil remains from cultural layers. Pollen analysis, however, can identify cultivated plants, the prevalence of grazing, the openness of the landscape, species diversity and regions of deforestation and afforestation. It is therefore the primary tool when the nature of the environmental impact of man is considered. The following section examines the development of clearance from the mid fifth millennium BC onward. This period coincides with the environmental horizon known as the Elm Decline which in the past has represented a boundary between the Mesolithic and Neolithic (Godwin and Clifford 1938). However, since the recognition of clearances and cereal pollen prior to this horizon, the decline has been dismissed as a division between the two cultures (Zvelebil 1994, Edwards 1989, Tipping 1994a). It will be necessary to consider the data upon a regional basis.

In 1978 Barker and Webley drew up a landscape model for the chalklands of Neolithic southern England and envisaged a 'mosaic of vegetation types' with exploitation only occurring in select areas, presumably where edaphic conditions were favourable (1978 161.D). The research of Bell on the history of the English chalkland hillwash similarly suggested less intensive utilisation of the landscape with activity occurring at a later date (1982, 1983). This viewpoint was contested by Bintliff, however, who didn't take kindly to 'a vision of [exploitation] by a few busloads of people living in small clearings in the primeval woodlands' (1982 156), but a decade on Bells' evidence had not altered (Scaife and Burrin 1992 78). Early Neolithic activity in Southern England was 'responsible for relatively minor quantities of inorganic sedimentation', believed Scaife, and it was perhaps not until the Early Bronze Age that 'increases in the inorganic component identified within the peat' relate to an intensification of woodland clearance (ibid). Agricultural methods are not thought to have been operating at a sufficient level to cause significant pedological change which is characteristic of later prehistoric profiles.

South-Central and South-Eastern England The counties represented by this area are bounded by the Cretaceous chalk outcrop running from the Dorset coast north and north east to the North Sea. The region as a whole is well known to be rich in archaeological remains of the mid fifth to mid fourth millennium BC. Consequently research has favoured this landscape, resulting in a wealth of data relating to the origins and development of human groups who exploited the region between Dorset and Kent. The paucity of archaeological data outside this geographical zone relates, to a degree, to less frequent excavation and survey programmes. Nevertheless, it is clear that this well-investigated landscape represented an important zone of concern to early communities.

The following section analyses the available data on a local basis to see whether it supports the idea of a more closed landscape during the late fifth and early fourth millennia BC. A study of alluvial deposits along the valley floor of the Winterboume/Upper Kennet in the Avebury and West Overton area of Wiltshire envisaged 'local zones' of activity during the Early Neolithic (Limbrey 1992 56, Evans et al l 993 187). Clearances were noted at Cherhill, Beckbampton Road, South Street, Avebury and Easton Down, but all were seen to have been 'sporadic and localised'. There certainly was no indication of one widespread clearance episode. At both Avebury and West Overton rates of localised sedimentation for the Early Neolithic were weak and colluvial build-up at Easton Down was slight. Evans' (1990) analysis of the infilling of long barrow ditches at South Street and Maiden Castle indicated open conditions close by at the time of construction with increasingly wooded conditions following construction. Indeed, the early fills of the ditches indicates 'activity specific to the ditch[ es] not

It is unfortunate that this attractive environment does not lend itself well to palynological analysis (Scaife 1987 1267). The calcareous soils of southern England are detrimental to the preservation of pollen grains; any soils with pH6 being 'virtually useless' for pollen analysis (Dimbleby 1957a 18). Extensive peat cutting has ruined nearly all of southern England's extensive peat deposits and the ever increasing need for agricultural land bas resulted in the damaging drainage of wetland areas. In certain regions peat mires have been totally eradicated where they once existed adjacent to agricultural landscapes (Scaife 1987 127). Occasional pockets of survival exist in the form of topogenous valley peat bogs and remnant ombrogenous bogs such as Thursley in Surrey, Cranes Moor in Hampshire and Amberley Wild Brooks in Sussex. Although of small extent these are valuable sources of

19

Preferred Economies

production. Indeed pollen studies across the Tertiary Basin Zone along the Hampshire-Dorset border point to an almost persistent forest cover throughout the Neolithic (Smith 1981 173). The data are clearly at variance to the picture envisaged by Evans through his analysis of the molluscan fauna (1971 , 1972).

spreading beyond [their] edges, and was of a nature that did not demand open country' (ibid 114). In all respects the scale of clearance activity was little different from preceding Mesolithic levels. The work of Waton conceived that the chalklands of southern Britain remained largely wooded throughout the Neolithic (1982 75.fJ). Forest conditions dominate the pollen evidence , suggesting that many areas were perhaps more important for their woodland resources. There are certainly 'zones of clearance ' , as identified by Evans et al and Limbrey (1993, 1992), but many areas seem to have remained forested and appear, on present evidence, not to have been cleared until later times. Where clearance indicators do exist the floral species generally suggest areas of pasture rather than arable. Recent reconstructions certainly contest the idea s of a third millenniwn mixed farming or arable landscape (Evans et al 1993, Whittle 1993).

Utilising ecologically sensitive assemblages of fossil snails , Evans saw a pattern of woodland clearance which related to the development of pasture land for the grazing of stock (1975 119). At Beckhampton Road long barrow snails indicativ e of open condition s were recorded at the surface turf line (ibid), and Early Neolithic horizons within features of the Avebury landscape displayed evidence suggesting an open environment (Smith R W 1984 Fig 4) . Open conditions were also recorded for the Early Neolithic on the basis of mollusc s along the Snelsmore chalk outcrop , Berkshire , under the long barrows at South Street , West Kennet and Horslip , Wiltshire , at Rimsmoo r Mire in Dorset , around the causewayed enclosure of Maiden Castle, Dorset and at Bishopstone and ltford Bottom, Sussex (Evans 1975, Ashbee et al 1979, Smith, R W 1984, Bell 1977).

Environmental data from Neolithic layers beneath the barrow of Hemp Knoll near A vebury suggest a largely undisturbed area where wild resources were of importance (Robertson-Mackay 1980), and data from the West Kennet barrow indicate open areas reflecting small scale activity (Evans et al 1988). Recent studies of the buried soil and primary fills of the Windmill Hill ditches suggest 'closed conditions' and a local environment of 'broken woodland or scrub' (Whittle 1993 40). Indeed, Evans states that the monwnent was built close to woodland, possibly on cleared land for the purpose of camp construction (1993). At Down Farm, Woodcutts, on Cranbome Chase Neolithic environmental data implies a landscape dominated by trees (Barrett et al 1991). Open conditions appear to have been 'rather restricted' and 'woodland refugia were never far away' (ibid 18). Similarly, at South Lodge Camp large episodes of clearance were not in evidence until the Middle Bronze Age and at Firtree Field Late Neolithic samples contained nwnerous wild species indicative of nearby woodland conditions (ibid 19).

Such evidence, however, has to be viewed with care if the cautions outlined by Carter are observed (1990). His research concluded that 'except in certain restricted circumstances, the temporal and ecological resolutions of land snail assemblages in buried soils are poor' (ibid 495). It is through the utilisation of other environmental sources that more conclusive inferences may be made. For instance the pollen record from South Street long barrow suggests clearances of a 'local nature' with 'areas of scrub woodland remaining around the site ' (Ashbee et al 1979 296). Beyond the central chalklands pollen and alluvial evidence continues to docwnent the survival of the forest. Throughout the Upper Thames Valley and stretching into the Midlands significant woodland resources appear to have remained until well into the Bronze Age (Lambrick 1992 221) . Shifting activity and mobility has been suggested for much of this area and where small clearances were made, regeneration of the woodland appears to have followed (ibid). Close to the Drayton Cursus, Oxfordshire, clearance was minimal at this time and at least one phase has been interpreted as tree-throw associated with harsh weather conditions (Robinson 1992 202) . Following detailed flotation of soils the mortuary complex at Mount Farm showed an increased representation of woodland plants (Case 1986), and beneath Ascott-under-Wychwood long barrow clearances appear to have been localised and in no way associated with agriculture (Dimbleby and Evans 1974) . Recent research by Wilson (1995 105) concluded that the 'noticeable incidence' of wild fauna from early to mid-Neolithic levels at the Goring enclosure site 'indicate that the locality ... was at least partly wooded ' being similar to the Neolithic sites upriver, such as Buscot Lock

Within the Stonehenge environment Early Neolithic activity has been indicated, as demonstrated by the preenclosure evidence at Durrington Walls and the King Barrow Ridge assemblages to the north of Coneybury Hill (Richards 1990 265). The available data, however , indicate a mobile existence based on the exploitation of plentiful local resources; indeed the phase of woodland clearance and cultivation associated with the pre-enclosure settlement at Durrington Walls ' appear s rather nebulous ' (ibid 265, see also Allen 1997). Cleal and Allen (1994 81) demonstrated that ' lightly grazed' grassland existed ' in the vicinity ' of the King Barrow Ridge in the Late Neolithic , but there was nothing to indicate the character of the surrounding local landscape. The emerging picture is one of openings in the vegetation created purely for the establishment of the various sites . There is little evidence to support clearanc e for widespread agricultur al

20

Cultigens and Domestic Livestock 5000-3500 BC

(Robinson and Wilson 1987 33-8), Drayton Cursus (Wilson 1987), and, high in the Cotswolds, Condicote henge where molluscan studies from silt deposits showed the structure to have been within a forest clearing (Saville 1983, Barclay et al 1997). Further down the Thames, Needham envisaged 'partially cleared' ground around the Runnymede Bridge complex, where activity appears to have been conducted in 'patches' of open land (Needham 1992 251). Throughout the lowland Raunds district in Northamptonshire woodland conditions were widespread during the fifth and fourth millennia. Samples from the land swface beneath the Redland Farm long barrow suggested construction upon 'locally cleared ground', whilst beyond the monument woodland conditions persisted (Keevill 1992 180).

which existed throughout the Wessex chalklands. Allen's analysis of the Early Neolithic landscape around Stonehenge suggests a downland primary forest with sporadic small clearings where grazing may have taken place (1997). In the Late Neolithic the clearings appear to have become occupied by the region's monuments. Evans' work upon the ditch fills of the Maiden Castle bank barrow suggested a woodland environment away from the monument, but how far this extended is uncertain (1990, 1993). All molluscan assemblages from Neolithic horizons around Maiden Castle have 'a considerable woodland element'; there is 'no evidence for widespread clearance [or] cultivation' (Sharples 1991 123). Groenman van Waateringe, in her discussion of the Neolithic in the Netherlands, suggested a semi-open woodland with a well developed undergrowth which could be utilised for grazing (1978 135.i). This would not necessitate the burning and felling of large tracts of woodland and would be a system which could support an economy of 'forest farming'. Goransson (1986, 1987) has indicated that woodland economies, which may have included coppicing, pollarding and leaf-foddering, could have an affect on pollen production, but to identify it successfully would be extremely difficult (see also Edwards 1998). Interestingly it is exactly this which Scaife discussed when he considered the Early Neolithic exploitation of the Isle of Wight landscape (Scaife 1987 140). At both Gatcombe Withy Bed and Borthwood Farm environmental indicators suggest 'pockets' of activity in a forested environment. The situation is not seen to change until well into the Bronze Age. Finally, evidence from Kent supports this picture. Palynological studies at the Devil's Kneeding Trough, Brook, show clearances which are described as 'temporary and sporadic'; permanent openings were only envisaged by the Early Iron Age (Kerney et al 1964).

Thorley (1971) has shown that pollen data for much of the Lewis area of the South Downs suggests a wooded environment throughout the Neolithic. Primary clearance does not appear to have taken place for a further millennium. Environmental data from the Vale of Brooks indicate a forested landscape until at least the Middle Bronze Age (Thorley 1981). Allen (1995 37-8), however, has warned that Thorley's data may only represent a local, rather than regional pollen catchment. Occasional buried soils have indicated phases of activity, as at Iping and West Heath, but utilisation of these open spaces was apparently localised (Keef et al 1965, Baigent 1976). Indeed, the West Sussex coastal plain 'appears to have remained largely forested' during the Neolithic; permanent settlement activity probably did not take place until 'the Beaker period and increased throughout the Bronze Age' (Bedwin 1983 43). Allen's (1995) studies of colluvium at Southerham Grey Pit and Malling Hill, on the downland to the east of Lewis close to Cliffe Hill 'oval' long barrow, suggest a mature woodland during the Early Neolithic, with perhaps limited disturbance only recorded by the later Neolithic. The main colluvial episodes, however, did not take place until the Iron Age. Certainly, throughout the South Downs of Sussex the construction of Neolithic sites took place largely within 'woodland openings' (Thomas 1982). At the Oflham Hill enclosure a 'very localised clearing' of a 'thoroughly woodland character' typified the environmental setting (ibid 150). Elsewhere, woodland conditions have been recorded surrounding the causewayed enclosures of Bury Hill and The Trundle and evidence of a similar nature emerged from deposits associated with Combe Hill enclosure, Whitehawk and Barkhale (Drewett 1994, Thomas 1982, 1994, Leach 1983).

Eastern England

The East Anglia fenlands and brecklands are rich in archaeological evidence of all prehistoric periods (Barringer (ed) 1984), and the waterlogged conditions of the fenland in particular, have proved valuable in relating past human activity to changes in the natural environment. Throughout prehistory the fenland edge will have provided a wealth of natural resources to be exploited by human communities (Hall and Coles 1994). The ecology will have made the area ideal for the lifestyle of hunting, gathering and foraging groups. Mesolithic artifacts have been located all along the fenland edge and are reflective of the active exploitation which took place here. Similarly lithic scatters of Neolithic style are abundant and perhaps relate to known Neolithic sites within the East Anglian region (Pryor 1992, Murphy 1994, Wilkinson and Murphy 1995).

Thomas stated that 'the general weight of the evidence from the Sussex enclosures suggests woodland clearance prior to, but not long before, their construction' (1982 164). In this respect it appears that clearance was carried out for the sole purpose of constructing the enclosures. This pattern would lead to the creation of a mosaic of clearances in regions of activity. It is perhaps this picture

The Fenland Dyke Survey suggested that the Northey

21

Preferred Economies

landscape was as long lived as Fengate (Pryor 1992 521). The primary evidence for earlier Neolithic activity comes from ceramic and lithic forms, whose distribution indicates a widespread region of exploitation. Little evidence exists of the local economy, but a possible droveway feature at Vicarage Farm indicates that livestock were significant to the population (ibid 519). Structural evidence, however, is rare in the record until later Neolithic times suggesting that prior to the late fourth millennium BC, the landscape was utilised on a seasonal and mobile basis (ibid 5 I 8, 521, see also Evans and Knight 1996).

character have been located (Pendleton pers comm), but actual sites are very rare. Early Neolithic pottery has been recovered from a pit complex at Bamham together with an abundance of flints and flakes, and further scatters of early flint have been recognised at Staunch Meadow in the parish of Brandon and across Lakenheath in the vicinity of Wangford Fen (Suffolk SMR. records) . The more substantial remains at Hurst Fen, Mildenhall, however, appear to relate to a more significant site, perhaps an enclosure (ibid, Clark et al 1960). Here a quantity of worked and unworked flint was recovered including sickle, axe and arrow forms suggesting a site concerned with production and the dissemination of fine artifacts.

An interesting structure which can be assigned to the earlier Neolithic category is the Fengate rectilinear ditched enclosure which has produced flint assemblages comparable to those recovered from late fifth millennium deposits at the Etton causewayed enclosure (Pryor 1988 63). Examination of the site led Pryor to suggest that the enclosure was 'probably not a settlement feature'; Kinnes postulated that it may in fact have served ' a funerary role' ; recent investigations actually locating a nearby burial (ibid 65). Associated with the enclosure were ditch and pit features, indicating that the area contained several contemporary structures (ibid 66). 'It is hard to imagine this kind of site density in a forested setting' expressed Pryor, who suggests that much of the area must have been deforested by the Middle Neolithic, but the environmental evidence does not support this.

Although Early Neolithic sites are rare in the region (Ashwin 1996) past environmental surveys have indicated phases of substantial clearance (Godwin and Tallantire 1951). Godwin and Tallantire visualized Neolithic activity from the pollen record from Rockham Mere. It was here that evidence for Neolithic forest clearance was first brought to light in Britain (Smith 1981 172). Sims's research modified this picture and saw clearance followed by regeneration, but the general pattern of an opening up of the landscape was maintained (Sims 1973). The extent of these clearances, however, need reappraisal. At Old Buckenham Mere, ten miles to the east pollen shows no evidence of deforestation until Bronze Age times, and at Seamere clearance is viewed as a 'short lived activity within a system of mobility', the environment being one of 'variegated forest, scrub and regenerating forest' (Healy 1984 98). A similar picture can be deduced from the valley floor profiles at Lackford Bridge (Godwin 1968, Murphy 1984). It is perhaps the valley profiles which are significant, as settlement in the Breckland region will undoubtedly have favoured the better soils that the valley environment would have provided (Murphy 1984 19). The paucity of evidence of a Neolithic date suggests that the Breckland landscape was marginal throughout this period. It seems likely that the landscape would, at best, have provided ground for grazing animals, but little evidence exists to suggest an emphasis on pastoralism.

In fact the evidence suggests that openings were very restricted across the fenland landscape throughout the fifth and fourth millennia BC. It is probable that the complete fen edge was maintained for traditional methods of exploitation present throughout the Mesolithic. It does not appear that the Neolithic economy necessitated the alteration of this resource-rich environment. Detailed palynological research at Peacock's Farm and Letter F Farm, both on the south-eastern fen-edge, by Smith (et al 1989) concluded that Early Neolithic communities were mobile within the landscape, perhaps ·occasionally occupying small camps within the light woodland cover. Excavation at both sites identified periods of quite intense activity, but no permanent structures, with which to infer sedentary occupation, were recorded. In this respect the type of clearances envisaged by Thomas for the Early Neolithic landscape of the Sussex Downs may be applicable to the Fenland evidence (Thomas, K. 1982, 1994). In other words, sites existed in specific openings. This supports the evidence of deforestation around the Etton enclosure and Maxey cursus, but does not suggest widespread removal of woodland (Pryor 1988 66, French I 990). Indeed, regional pollen assemblages indicate that the landscape throughout this period was dominated by lime woodland (Scaife 1992 465).

It is probable that the extent of the clearances inferred at Rockham Mere have been overestimated. The presence of Plantago /anceolata led Godwin to suggest a landscape adapted to pastoralism (Godwin and Tallantire 1951 285.ff). However, this species is only an indicator of such activity, and similar results can be created by the disturbance of land solely frequented by wild grazing animals following traditional paths of movement. Additionally, the poor sandy Breckland soils perhaps lacked a continuous mat of vegetation during the early prehistoric period, being unstable in ecological terms (Healy 1984). Certainly in recent years open areas have failed to re-generate due to their ecological fragility. A similar situation may have existed in the past, thus providing a false picture of maintained clearance, when in fact there may have been

Beyond the fenlands a considerable environmental change is recognised in the form of the sandy brecklands. As with the fenland region numerous lithic artifacts of a Neolithic

22

Cultigens and Domestic Livestock 5000-3500 BC

little human intervention. Indeed, re-analysis at Rockham Mere 'indicated limited clearance in the Neolithic and Bronze Age' with major clearance and a spread of heathland from 500 BC (Murphy 1994). This perhaps accounts for the few recognised Early Neolithic sites in the area.

Hanging Grimston, Yorkshire, Ayton East Field, along the northern periphery of the Yorkshire Moorland zone, K.ilham, within the East Riding of Yorkshire, Bellshiel Law and The Devil's Lapful, Northumberland and Dalladies, K.incardinshire, where a timber structure was located beneath an earthen mound (Manby 1970, 1976, Spratt 1982, Masters 1984, Piggott 1972). A similar timber element was associated with the Street House burial, Cleveland (Vyner 1988). A causewayed enclosure is also known at Hastings Hill, in the lowland region between the River Tees and Wear (Newman 1976) and recent excavations beneath Harehaugh Hillfort, to the north of the Tyne have identified what is thought to be a further causewayed enclosure site. Other enclosure monuments in the region include the palisaded site at Meldon Bridge (Burgess 1976) and the henge at Coupland (Waddington 1996).

Finally, it is worth mentioning that evidence along the Blackwater Estuary, Essex implied that known Neolithic sites were positioned within clearances of a 'restricted nature' (Wilkinson and Murphy 1995, Wallis and Waughman 1998). Evidence points to a period of activity in woodland with communities actively exploiting the natural flora and fauna such an environment presents. Charcoal scatters on submerged land surfaces along the valley floors of the Essex estuaries testify to woodland conditions dominated by oak, lime and hazel (Wilkinson and Murphy 1995 98). The many Early Neolithic sites identified by flint and pottery scatters show clearly that activity took place, but in many places this was 'insufficient to break the canopy' and at most may have represented a camp in a clearing (ibid 100). Indeed at many sites the nature of past activities 'is uncertain'. At Blackwater Site 18 and Springfield pollen from Early Neolithic levels indicated a 'woodland spectrum' with act1v1ty characterised by 'inroads into the forest cover'; nowhere are data indicative of large scale clearance (ibid 216, Murphy 1994). Scaife's research at Rolls Farm , in the estuary to the east, also identified little evidence for forest clearance (1995) and at Chigborough Farm the excavators described the site as representing several 'short-lived occupations' none of which will have required much forest disturbance (Wallis and Waughman 1998 218).

Further evidence of activity is produced by the wide scatters of Early Neolithic stone and flint axes (Cummins 1979). Stone axes are prolific around the Tabular Hills, and are also present throughout the river-valley landscape of the North-East. It is noticeable that the distribution of polished varieties corresponds with the overall axe distribution, but all forms are conspicuous by their absence from the high moorland (Spratt 1982 118, Burgess et al 1981). Early Neolithic pottery forms are also noticeably absent from the upland locations, but acidic soil conditions may not have favoured preservation. Little evidence exists relating to settlement, the flint scatters generally suggest a more mobile lifestyle, not too dissimilar from the preceding Mesolithic traditions. Indeed, evidence from the uplands indicates a continuum of activities relating to seasonal hunting and gathering; strategies throughout this region appear to have remained largely unchanged.

Peak District to the Pennines, Northumberland to the Cheviots

Environmental studies of the East Moors of Derbyshire show that prior to the Early Bronze Age the area supported a mixed-oak forest in which alder dominated (Hicks 1971, 1972, Long 1994). The forest cover was almost complete, being broken only by the gritstone ridges and occasional zones of fenland. During the Mesolithic occasional small clearings were made, and this activity is not thought to have altered throughout the Neolithic (ibid, Hicks 1972 6). At Totley Moss, Hipper Sick and Leash Fen tentative evidence of clearance has been found, but it appears to be small and un-associated with archaeology (ibid 8). Indeed, Hicks envisaged 'semi-nomadic' groups who made inroads into the forests in a similar manner to the Mesolithic population (1971 662). The survey by Bradley and Hart (1983) similarly saw a low level of land use activity in this region. Unfortunately, where Early Neolithic pottery was located at Green Low, no pollen study was conducted (Hicks 1971 658). In this respect it is difficult to suggest how open the environment was in Central Derbyshire where Neolithic activity clearly existed.

This wide geographical expanse includes the uplands of the Derbyshire Peak District, and extends north east through the Yorkshire Wolds and North Yorkshire Moors, down through the County Durham lowlands and westwards into the Pennine Dales. In addition, the north-eastern landscape of northern Northumberland reaching northward into the Cheviots of south-east Scotland will be reviewed. It is my purpose here to discuss clearance activity of an earlier Neolithic date throughout this landscape, hence consideration of the settlement archaeology will be kept to

a minimum. Earlier Neolithic actlVlty is represented by a range of characteristic sites. These primarily exist along the eastern lowlands, especially throughout the Yorkshire Wold region and in the lowlands of south-east Scotland, although recent fieldwork has located a number of sites throughout the river valleys of Derbyshire (Manby 1975, Bradley and Hart 1983). Many long barrow sites are known including

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Cultigens and Domestic Livestock 5000-3500 BC

In Yorkshire more environmental studies have taken place (Spratt and Simmons 1976, Simmons 1969, 1996, Simmons and Innes 1988, 1996). It is clear, however, that the landscape has been researched unevenly, and the Tabular region to the south of the Moors, although possessing an extensive archaeological landscape, has received little in the way of palaeo-environmental study. Few radiocarbon dates are available for the region and uncertainties exist due to insufficient geochronometric markers (Simmons 1982 33).

and it is probable that a woodland landscape existed nearby (Bush 1982, Evans and Dimbleby 1976). Further west extensive palynological research on Nidderdale Moor suggested limited activity during the early and middle phases of the Neolithic, with increased activity occurring only toward the close of this period (Tinsley 1975). This picture of infrequent activity is mirrored throughout the Rishworth Moor diagrams, approximately 40 miles to the south-west, on the Yorkshire Pennines (Bartley 1975). Indeed throughout the Pennine landscape a picture of limited Early to Middle Neolithic activity is recorded from the available pollen diagrams. The Pennine region encompasses the upland landscape from West Yorkshire north through to the Tyne Gap, north-east of County Durham, and hence represents a vast landscape which was available for early exploitation. As with the North Yorkshire region Late Mesolithic activity is in evidence, and many pollen diagrams show episodes of small-scale clearance probably associated with hunting and gathering (Radley et al 1974, Coggins et al 1988). It is clear, however, that the scale of exploitation did not increase significantly throughout the late fifth and fourth millennia BC.

During the sixth millennium BC the whole of the Yorkshire landscape was covered with a characteristic mixeddeciduous forest (Jones 1976). On the highest moors forest cover perhaps did not develop rapidly and Jones envisaged a mosaic of heath and grasses associated with patches of scrub woodland (ibid 40). During the Boreal small, temporary clearances took place with evidence for the use of fire (Simmons et al 1975, 1982 58, Simmons 1996). Toward the middle of the fifth millennium BC, however, most deposits, such as those from Bonfield Gill Head, are devoid of charcoal, suggesting a change in landuse (Simmons and Innes 1988, 1996). It is possible that the landuse which employed manipulation by fire was no longer required; alternatively activity may have moved away from the uplands (ibid). Jacobi has suggested that the need for fire may well have ceased when agriculture was adopted (et al 1976 307.ff).

In the southern Pennines, the work of Tallis has shown little environmental impact during the Neolithic (Tallis and Switsur 1973). Evidence from Feather Bed Moss and Soyland Moss indicate select clearings which are not associated with archaeological evidence. Further to the north in Upper Teesdale Early Neolithic flint scatters are known, but clearance indicators do not appear in most diagrams until the Bronze Age. Indeed throughout the Valley Bog profiles, of the Moor House Reserve, a widespread covering of forest is thought to have existed throughout the Neolithic (Chambers 1978). This is supported from the Cow Green Reservoir and Widdybank Fell pollen profiles close by (Turner 1983). Chambers believed that during this period much of lowland northern England was covered in forest which will have prevented activities associated with pastoralism, though it may have favoured hunting and gathering (1978 279). The midTeesdale diagram from Moss Mire showed that the first clearances did not take place until Iron Age times, and throughout W eardale native woodland is seen to continue until the end of the first millennium BC (Donaldson and Rackham 1984 137). Also at Steward Shield and Bollihope pollen indicators for open ground are not seen until the last two centuries of the Iron Age (ibid), and at Thinhope Burn sedimentary evidence shows limited runoff until early historic times (Macklin et al 1992 123).

Throughout the uplands the vegetational cover appears to have remained largely unaltered. The moorland profiles at North Gill and Fen Bogs both show little impact until Bronze Age times, and a similar picture of small-scale clearance during the Neolithic is recorded within the sedimentary deposits at Ewe Crag Slack and Blakey Landslip (Simmons 1969, 1975, 1996, Simmons and Cundill 1974, Simmons and Innes 1988, 1996, 1996a). At Collier Gill, Bilsdale East Moor, West House Moss and May Moss limited Mesolithic activity is recorded, and the scale of change is not seen to alter significantly throughout the following millennia (Simmons 1969, 1996). Several lower altitude sites, such as Moss Swang, Saint Helena and Moss Slack, similarly reveal small-scale impact, with substantial clearance not being recorded until the Bronze Age (Atherden 1979, Cundill 1982). It is only at this time that clearance indicators become a recognisable feature of almost all North Yorkshire pollen diagrams. Whilst archaeological sites are more prolific in the lower altitude valleys and coastal environs, the pollen evidence still points to a forested landscape. At Willow Garth in the Wold Valley a dated pollen monolith showed Late Mesolithic clearance activity (Bush 1988 459), but a 'mature grassland system' was not recognised until the Middle Bronze Age. Soil sealed beneath Kilham long barrow suggested open ground, but the evidence related purely to the environment in the vicinity of the monument,

To the east of the Pennine range are the lowlands of East Durham and Tyne and Wear. According to Donaldson and Turner the Wear lowlands around Hallowell Moss were not cleared until Romano-British times, and the archaeological evidence accords well with this picture (Donaldson and

25

Preferred Economies Charlton and the Black Lough profile both suggest the earliest clearances took place following the Late Bronze Age. The first clearance noted at Camp Hill was dated 720 +/-70 be (940-800 CAL BC], few episodes of disturbance were recognised prior to this date (Donaldson and Rackham 1984 141). Tipping more recently indicated that during the Neolithic extensive woodland existed around the Camp Hill Moss region with agriculture occurring only after c 800 BC (1992 117). Pollen diagrams from Sourhope and Yetholm Loch, in the Bowmont Valley, do, however, provide some evidence for Early Neolithic activity (Tipping 1996). The scale of activity is poorly defmed, but such disturbance likely reflects woodland edge manipulation to increase grazing potential. It is clear at this time that certain areas, such as the upper fringes of the Bowmont Valley, were being selectively utilised, most probably being associated with herd management and the creation of patches of grazing. Clearance for crops was not taking place.

Turner 1977, Haselgrove and Healey 1992, Young 1987). They suggest that the Hallowell evidence is representative of 'much of mid-Weardale' (ibid 32). Certainly in the region of Morden Carr, Thorpe Bulmer and Bishop Middleham, significant clearances are not recorded until the Bronze Age, although, at Hutton Henry an opening of the landscape was recorded during the later Neolithic (Donaldson and Rackham 1984 137, Bartley et al 1976 437.ff). At Fozy Moss, just to the north of the present channel of the River South Tyne, Dumayne and Barber (1994) recorded a 'largely forested' landscape from the Neolithic through to the Iron Age, and at Scotswood, on the Lower Tyne, and Farnley Haughs on the Middle Tyne increased alluvial activity associated with clearance occurs primarily toward the Bronze Age-Iron Age interface (Passmore et al 1992); evidence of Neolithic alluviation, however, has been attributed to climatic factors (Macklin et al 1992 128). The peat beds of the intertidal zone at Hartlepool show evidence suggesting clearance during the Early Neolithic (Tooley 1978). Interestingly this region has yielded a variety of contemporary artifacts including axes and wooden objects, together with a Late Neolithic bog burial. It is probable that the wetland zone around Hartlepool represented an area of special significance throughout the Neolithic, where exotic artifacts were deposited and burials took place. Certainly the clearance indicators here are not typical of the north-eastern landscape as a whole. A recent fieldwalking survey conducted by the University of Durham indicated a coastal preference for fourth and third millennia communities, the coastal zone having four times the density of worked flint found than in the inland areas studied (Haselgrove and Healey 1992 19, also Tolan-Smith 1996). Perhaps the heavy and poorly drained soils of the Tees lowlands served to ward off potential settlers.

In the Borders region of south-east Scotland pollen from the mire sediments at Dod indicate small scale Mesolithic disturbances, which do not increase in magnitude until Iron Age times (Innes and Sherman 1991). Extensive deforestation is only associated with Iron Age levels which can be correlated with nearby archaeology. Colluvial build-up deposits do, however, indicate activity during the Early Neolithic, but Innes and Shennan suggest 'pastoral activity within a still wooded environment' (1991 18). Data from Flanders Moss in the Forth Valley again suggest a forested landscape (Turner 1965) and an analysis of further pollen sequences throughout Scotland, such as the Speyside diagrams of the east central Highlands, the Loch Tarff, Loch Clair and Loch Maree data from north-west Scotland, and the Loch Park evidence from Aberdeenshire, all show minimal Neolithic impact, which was not dissimilar from previous Mesolithic activities (O'Sullivan 1974, Birks 1972, Pennington et al 1972, Tipping 1994a). Near Lairg, pollen sequences indicate no human activity until the late second millennium BC and at Loch Garten and Loch Sionascaig anthropogenic activity is only recognised after c 1500 BC (McCullagh and Tipping 1998, Tipping 1994a 25). Clearances in the north-east of Scotland are always 'small scale' in the Neolithic and of short duration . At Braeroddach Loch prolonged clearance only took place after c 1850 BC featuring 'the earliest evidence for cereal cultivation' (ibid 29). As with other regions, Neolithic groups appear to have had a minimal impact on the environment even though archaeological evidence for their existence is often quite prolific.

The Tyne Gap connecting the Cumbrian lowlands with the east coast must have always represented a major routeway throughout prehistory, its use culminating in the construction of Hadrian's Wall. In this region are two important dated pollen diagrams from Fell End Moss and Steng Moss (Davies and Turner 1979). At both sites the first clearances appear during the Early Bronze Age, with evidence for arable not until the Roman period. A similar sequence has been suggested around Bolton Fell Moss where agriculture was only associated with Late Iron Age and Roman levels (Donaldson and Rackham 1984 140). Clearly the region was utilised by Early Neolithic travellers who exchanged axes between Cumbria and the north-east, but it appears that an opening up of the environment was not necessary for their activities (see Young 1994). In north Northumberland the Cheviot and Fell sandstone hill regions have been well studied environmentally (Davies and Turner 1979, Donaldson and Rackham 1984 141, Tipping 1996). At Broad Moss major clearances have been recognised, but the earliest are dated to the Iron Age. Similarly the Camp Hill Moss sequence from North

Wales and the south-west of England

In this section the Early Neolithic vegetation of Wales will be looked at, together with the evidence from Gloucestershire , the Somerset Levels and the counties of

26

Cultigens and Domestic Livestock 5000-3500 BC

Devon and Cornwall. An analysis of the archaeological data will be kept to a minimum, although the preserved wooden tracks in the Somerset Levels will warrant a more detailed review as they are directly related to the developing environmental conditions.

Neolithic, the only period of change being attributed to Bronze Age horizons (Tinsley 1981 215). In this instance the activity recorded for the Neolithic varies little from that noted for the Mesolithic. It is probable that the highest parts of Wales never actually carried a forest cover, and therefore peat development probably took place as climatic conditions deteriorated (ibid 231). Here human intervention may have played a limited role in the patterns of development outlined by Moore.

Environmental research throughout Wales has advanced in recent years. Taylor (1980) carried out a detailed review focusing on environmental change throughout the Holocene, and more recently Caseldine (1990) conducted an analysis focusing on vegetational development from the Mesolithic. Generally, much of Wales was covered with dense forest throughout the Neolithic, with only occasional small clearances.

Pollen evidence from Tregaron Bog and Llanllwch Bog, Dyfed and at the Breiddin all suggest that extensive clearance did not take place during the Neolithic (Turner 1965, Thomas 1965, Musson 1991 173). Caseldine's research ( 1990) indicates that the fourth and early third millennia BC saw 'predominantly small-scale activity with only localised short term clearances' (ibid 45). Indeed, analysis of the buried soil beneath Myndd Troed long barrow indicates construction in an area of 'open woodland' (ibid). Where sedimentary studies have taken place the picture is of limited vegetational interference with a slight increase in sediment accumulation into the third millennium (Jones et al 1985). In the main, the variation between Mesolithic and Neolithic clearance is very slight.

Evidence for Early Neolithic activity in Wales is predominantly of a lowland character and is primarily represented by chambered tombs, such as Cerreg Samson, Pembrokeshire, and stone artifact scatters (Lynch 1975, Benson et al 1990 23 7). A possible settlement was recorded at Clegyr Boia, Pembrokeshire, which, the excavator stated, provided limited evidence of an 'established farming community', even though most evidence tended to suggest small-scale activity relating to temporary occupation (Williams 1953). It appears, however, that the inferred Iron Age date of the sites' stone enclosure may in fact be contemporary with the Neolithic structures indicating the presence of a far more complex site (Thomas 1996). In this instance the Clegyr Boia arrangement was perhaps more akin to such sites as Cam Brea, Cornwall, which seems to have been a significant location in the landscape.

Evidence for Neolithic agriculture throughout Wales is very rare. Only Nant Helen and Y Godor II have produced data indicative of pre-elm decline arable, but it has been recognised that the cereal pollen may simply reflect natural flora rather than cultivation (Caseldine 1990 43). Evidence for cereal growing at the time of the elm horizon has been recognised from the Wye Valley site of Llyn Mire and at Trum Felen, but at the majority of sites the elm decline is accompanied by taxa indicative of woodland, scrubland or pastoral conditions. By and large, suggestions of agriculture are attributed to pastoralism, which was perhaps based upon seasonal systems of transhumance (Smith 1981 179).

At Rhos-y-Clegym, Pembrokeshire, a series of 'flimsy' structures existed below an Early Bronze Age ritual complex, and evidence from Coygan Camp, Carrnarthenshire, suggested an Early Neolithic site which was of an 'indefmite' nature (Wainwright 1967). Ceramics in cave sites, as at Caldey, Pembrokeshire, suggest temporary and perhaps mobile populations (Lacaille and Grimes 1961). At Moel y Gaer, Flintshire, an Early Neolithic floor was encountered associated with a range of flint forms, including cores and arrow-head blanks (Bradley 1978 80). It seems that the site was occupied for the sole purpose of flint manufacture for hunting. A similar assemblage of half worked hunting flints were recovered from the hilltop site at the Breiddin (Musson 1991). Here, Bradley said that 'the small quantity of waste pieces is the clearest index of mobility' (1978 80), whilst Musson (1991 174) stated that the waste flakes were 'fewer proportionately than would be expected on an occupation site'. Where permanency is suggested it is more to do with production and manufacture, than settlement and residency.

Extensive environmental work has been carried out in the region of the Somerset Levels (Coles and Coles 1986, Coles 1975-92). A sea-level rise during the Holocene meant that by the close of the Mesolithic the whole of lowland Somerset was a 'great tidally inundated expanse in which silts and clays were accumulating' (Bell and Walker 1992 126). Upon these deposits developed a rich and varied vegetation culminating in the establishment of a fen woodland. Into this environment came Mesolithic groups who saw the potential for extensive natural resource exploitation. Indeed, research throughout the Brue and Sedgemore Valleys has located extensive scatters of Mesolithic artifacts, but no structures for this period have been recovered (Coles 1989 19).

Research by Moore (1973) suggested that peat initiation in upland mid-Wales was due, in part, to anthropogenic disturbance. Although this may be the case, peat development does not increase between the Mesolithic and

The earliest structure discovered in the Levels is the Sweet Track, a raised walkway built across the fen peat presumably to maintain communication at a time when the environment was still wet. Hillam et al have confidently

27

Preferred Economies

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Third Millennium BC Economics

have carried a vegetation suited to its particular environmental conditions. Patches of land will, however, have remained relatively flood-free. The Fengate-Northey landscape has been viewed as one such area and recent auger studies concluded that the zone of land available for dry-land activities will have been about 4 sq. km. (ibid 521 ). Pryor believes that this would have been a major resource base 'well worth protecting and defending' (ibid). Beneath the main peat of Flag Fen near Fengate, is a buried land surface which has been assigned to the Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age by comparison with other regional data (Scaife 1992 462). Pollen analysis of this horizon showed a continuing dominance of lime which was probably growing throughout the Fengate landscape. Alder and willow, suggesting nearby wetland, were also evident. From the environmental data Scaife pictured a late third millennium BC environment dominated by a woodland element. A mosaic of woodland and wet openland existed at the time of Late Neolithic exploitation and this appears to have continued well into the second millennium BC. Whilst the environmental evidence is in apparent contrast to the archaeological data (see Silvester 1991) it appears that this may be a reflection of the type of activities which were undertaken in the region.

Loughlin and Miller 1979), but pottery survival is extremely rare and actual settlement sites are little lmown (van de Noort and Davies 1993 54). Details of the vegetational development of this landscape comes from a number of areas, mainly Holderness and the Hull Valley, the Lincolnshire Marshes, the Ancholme Valley, the Humberhead Levels and the Vale of York. Whilst the Elm Decline forms a synchronous event throughout most pollen diagrams, substantial clearances associated with anthropogenic impact do not occur in any of these regions until much later. Across the Vale of York, the Humberhead Levels and Holderness clearances associated with agriculture began around the Middle Bronze Age, but the greatest impact was not until the Iron Age (Smith, B 1985). No Neolithic clearances were noted in the Lincolnshire Marshes or in the Ancholme Valley and forest removal appears to only take place from the Late Bronze Age onwards, as indicated by pollen and colluvial evidence (Greig 1982, Preece and Robinson 1984). It is apparent that existing information on vegetation change across the Humber wetlands indicates a closed woodland throughout the third millennium BC. Although data are limited, pollen and colluvial studies suggest the maintenance of a full woodland until the middle second millennium BC at which time clear anthropogenic impacts can be recognised.

Recent research throughout the Lower Welland Valley has been concerned with elucidating the environmental setting of several important structures, including the Etton henges, Maxey great henge and Etton Woodgate (French 1990, Waller 1994). Soil micro-morphology has indicated that throughout the Neolithic and into the Early Bronze Age forest clearance only took place in the vicinity of the monuments; outside these zones a continuation of a forested and wetland landscape was recorded. Much of the low lying landscape was considered by French to be unsuitable for settlement or agriculture and he views the environmental evidence as representing a type of clearance possibly associated with ritual (ibid 308). Elsewhere in the Cambridgeshire region environmental studies envisage a similar restricted opening of the landscape with little evidence of widespread clearance. At Shippea Hill Early Bronze Age activity was located upon sand hill outcrop suggesting the existence of a 'dry island' within the East Anglian fenland zone. Clearance had perhaps taken place in the immediate vicinity of the activity, but the surrounding landscape appears to have been little altered (Clark and Godwin 1933). At Rectory Farm, Godmanchester, pits with waterlogged fills have been excavated at a junction of cursus and enclosure ditches and environmental data recovered suggested progressive deforestation from the Middle Bronze Age. Prior to this time woodland conditions were maintained (Murphy 1994, Rackham pers comm).

Further south on Mildenhall Fen, Suffolk a considerable quantity of Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age material has been excavated (Suffolk County SMR 1996). Activity is seen to have taken place at three sites around West Row, where suggested occupation has been examined. Environmental data from the three sites does show a level of local clearance, but the large numbers of oaks, yews and pines being dragged up from the contemporary peats give some impression of local woodland conditions. The economic functions of the sites is as yet, unclear and it is not thought that permanent activity took place (Murphy 1984 27). It is clear, however, that the exploitation involved minimal clearance of forest and may have involved an active hunting regime (Murphy 1994). The current Breckland Survey ( 1994-6) promises to provide valuable information relating to the archaeological and environmental development in this diverse region (Suffolk Council, pers comm), but to date few studies have taken place and what is available needs detailed revision in the light of more recent research objectives (Godwin 1944, Sims 1978, Watt 1940). The survey conducted by Godwin (1944) and revised by Bennett (1983) indicates that the local landscape was dominated by a lime woodland with limited clearance until 500 BC. The classic sites of Rockham Mere and Seamere suggest temporary clearances throughout the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age with a substantial reduction in forest cover only occurring during the Iron Age. In this instance Neolithic and Bronze Age activity in the landscape is seen to have been minimal. Some Breckland sites, including Little Cressingham ringditch, have produced molluscan data suggesting open

The importance of English wetlands for the high-quality preservation of archaeology has come to light through the work of van de Noort and Davies working throughout the wetlands of the Humber region (1993). In the region cursus and henge monuments have been identified (see 63

Preferred Economies

1993). Following this, the site is once again seen to revert to a forested environment. Similarly at Baldock in North Hertfordshire a range of features associated with Late Neolithic ceramics produced molluscan assemblages indicative of a closed canopy environment (Burleigh pers comm, Richmond forthcoming). Whilst there are still problems surrounding the utilisation of snail assemblage s from archaeological sites, few other environmental indicators survive preserved on the dry chalkland landscapes (Carter 1990). Clearly further work is necessary in this geological zone for the investigation of research objective s. Only when more sites have been analysed can patterns of clearance activity be more clearly identified .

conditions in the Early Bronze Age, but the data are only applicable to the immediate environment and until more widespread surveys are conducted the nature of the surrounding landscape will remain open to speculation (Murphy 1994). Interestingly at Mintlyn Wood, Bawsey pollen analyses of a palaeosoil beneath a barrow indicated open woodland of lime and hazel with indications of dense alder in the nearby valley floor (Scaife unpublished). This environmental picture may well be typical of the late third millennium BC Breckland landscape as a whole. Research throughout the Essex landscape has been quite intense in recent years (Wilkinson and Murphy 1995, Murphy 1989, 1994, Wiltshire 1991, Barker and Webley 1978, Wallis and Waughman 1998). Two Essex estuary sites, Purfleet on the Thames and The Stumble on the Blackwater have preserved palaeosol s which have sealed informative environmental assemblages . At Purfleet , Late Neolithic artifact s were recovered in association with environmental data indicating activity in dry woodland (Wilkinson and Murphy 1995 97). Artifacts indicated intense human activity, but there is no evidence for woodland clearance . Wilkinson and Murphy believe there was 'limited' clearance of woodlands and that people still relied upon 'woodland economies' (ibid 57/217). Similar evidence recorded along the Blackwater Estuary suggested a heavy dependence upon woodland resources during the Late Neolithic. Clearances appear to have been restricted (Murphy 1994). The estuary surveys generally indicate minimal clearance toward the end of the third millennium BC and it is clear that the canopy was little affected at this time; evidence tends to suggest tree cutting only for fuel and perhaps construction (Wilkinson and Murphy 1995 100). Blackwater Sites 3, 18 and 28 were all dominated by oak, beech, hazel and lime which was little altered throughout the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (ibid 60) . Clearances were 'sparse and localised' often being associated with 'specialised sites' such as burnt mounds (ibid). Palaeo-environmental studies at Epping Forest show a continuing forest cover throughout the Neolithic and Bronze Age with little activity associated with clearance (Barker and Webley 1978), whilst at the inland site of Stanstead Brook a recent pollen profile indicated the presence of an Early Bronze Age site enclosed by woodland . Lime and alder were seen to have been locally dominant with few clearance indicators until the end of the second millennium BC (Wiltshire 1991).

Peak District to the Pennines, Northumberland to the Cheviots Archaeologically, the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of the Peak District is 'highly visible' as compared to the earlier Neolithic (Garton 1991, Bamatt 1987, 1994, Ainsworth and Bamatt 1998). Burial and ritual monuments are conspicuous, but settlement data are indistinct. Flint scatters proliferate and concentrations of special artifacts have been identified leading to suggestions ofa widespread utilisation of the moorlands (ibid). Environmental work has fortunately been carried out with archaeological considerations in mind (Hicks 1971, 1972, Long 1994, Long et al 1998). Throughout her survey of the East Moor region of Derbyshire, Hicks emphasised the 'local nature' of Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age clearances and this was confirmed by the work of Long over twenty years later. Pollen cores 'adjacent to known archaeological activity' showed vegetation considered to be locally representative . At Leash Fen, Hipper Sick, Featherbed Moss, Lucas Fen and Stoke Flat pollen suggested minor activity throughout the third millennium BC. It was clear that human groups carried out temporary and small scale clearances , but these were not different in kind to earlier practices (Long 1994 160). It was not until the late second and early first millennia BC that Hicks and Long witnessed more intensive activity associated with 'food vessel ' users. The results from palynology are at variance with the earlier archaeological views of Bamatt (1987 , 1994) who envisaged an agricultural landscape during the Early Bronze Age. The two bodies of evidence can perhaps be reconciled if one considers that clearances , associated with farming and permanent settlement , only really developed toward the close of the Early Bronze Age, intensifying through into the second millennium . In reality there are not enough radiocarbon dates for the Peak District to begin to properly understand this complex period .

As discussed, the chalklands of Essex , Norfolk , Hertfordshir e and Cambridgeshire have been poorly investigated. Several projects are currently in progress, but published information from these zones has not been forthcoming (North Hertfordshir e District SMR Cambridgeshire Dykes Project) . A Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age site at Redgate Hill , Hunstanton has produced molluscan evidence suggesting a phase of disturbed woodland prior to intensive clearance during the Late Bronz e Age (Murph y 1993, 1994 , Bradl ey et al

Furthe r to the west, upon the limestone of Derbyshire , archaeo logical sites prolifer ate, but environment al research

64

Third Millennium BC Economics

has been less intense. It is interesting, therefore, to note that research by Hawkes-Smith (1979) saw many of the sites in this region as being within woodland zones. Just as sites on East Moor may have existed within woodland clearings, it is probable that the more impressive sites upon the limestone outcrop did also. Suggestions that Early Bronze Age groups expanded out of the limestone core region and on to the eastern moorland fringe may, in the light of these inferences, have had little to do with agriculture.

1675 CAL BC] T.1150). At Collier Gill a forested environment was present at 1936 +/- 79 be [2560-2320 CAL BC] (BM-428) and woodland conditions were identified throughout second millennium BC levels at Moss Slack and Saint Helena upon the northern moors, and at Nidderdale Moor and Rishworth Moor to the west of the moorland zone (Atherden 1976, Tinsley 1975, Bartley 1975). To the north of the moors Vyner (1991) recorded woodland and scrub-like conditions at the time of the construction of Mount Pleasant burial mound upon the Eston Hills, Cleveland. 'Bracken and encroaching woodland' were typical of the landscape as a whole (ibid 44). The data point to a widespread forest cover at a time of monument construction and round barrow utilisation.

Research projects in North Yorkshire have ensured the development of a precise vegetational sequence throughout the prehistoric period (Simmons 1969, 1975, 1996, et al 1975, 1981, Simmons and Cundill 1974, Atherden 1976, Beckett 1981). In eastern Yorkshire and across the higher moorlands palynological studies indicate a spate of smallscale clearance episodes with little evidence for large scale activity until the latter half of the second millennium BC (Beckett 1981, Atherden 1976). The existence of grassland is attested by the use of turf in barrow construction, but such indirect evidence should not lead to the suggestion of an open landscape suited to agriculture (Manby 1988 56). It is more apparent that monuments were positioned within woodland clearings and may have had zones of managed grassland in association. Certainly environmental work in the vicinity of Thwing, the Rudston monolith, Whitegrounds and Garton Slack suggest a composite vegetation with areas of woodland intermixed with patches of grassland, heath and marsh (Manby 1988 56). Importantly Dimbleby's (1961) analysis ofburied soil profiles underneath barrows at Burton Howes led him to suggest that the monuments were constructed in clearings with abundant forest in the vicinity.

Environmental studies throughout the Pennines of Upper Teesdale, the lowlands of mid Teesdale, Weardale and east Durham, north Northumberland and the Cheviots of southeast Scotland have been sporadic over the years, but viewed together provide a valuable picture of vegetational development throughout this region of evident prehistoric activity (Chambers 1978, Turner 1983, Donaldson and Rackham 1984, Macklin et al 1992, Davies and Turner 1979, Innes and Shennan 1991, Tipping 1994a, Mercer and Tipping 1994). The Valley Bog profiles from the Moor House Reserve of Upper Teesdale show no recognisable changes in forest composition between Early and Late Neolithic levels; the pollen diagrams show little clearance until Late Bronze Age times (Chambers 1978). This is supported by evidence from the Cow Green Reservoir and Widdybank Fell (Turner 1983). Mid Teesdale and W eardale were similarly exploited, as clearance indicators at Moss Mire, Steward Shield and Bollihope do not make an appearance in the record until the Late Bronze Age (Donaldson and Rackham 1984). Throughout the entire landscape subsistence methods do not appear to have necessitated widespread clearance, as has often been suggested.

Most pollen analytical evidence for the period provides no indication of intensive clearance or agriculture. Openings are occasionally more pronounced than those recognised for the earlier Neolithic, but they are 'not different in kind' (Spratt and Simmons 1976 201). At most, the picture is of a number of small clearings for pasture with plenty of forest in between. Clearance was evidently restricted either spatially or temporally, or both (Harding 1994 64). An increase in pastoralism may account for several of the recognised clearances, but sporadic hunting could still characterise the period. Indeed, the pattern emerging is one of a scattered population who exploited the lower zones of land where flint resources were more plentiful and no doubt plants and animals more prolific. It may be significant that Neolithic and Early Bronze Age arrowheads are often present of known Mesolithic sites in the region (Spratt (ed) 1993). This suggests that groups were continually revisiting favoured locations for hunting.

Within the lowland landscape of Durham and the Tyne and Wear Valleys archaeological evidence in the form of artifact assemblages attests to the presence of late third millennium BC populations (Haselgrove and Healey 1992, Burgess 1984, Harding 1981, Young 1994). Little evidence exists relating directly to habitation, but this may be due to the heavy nature of modem development within this zone. Several vegetation studies conducted during the 1970's suggest an environment not too dissimilar from that noted for the uplands of the region. Palynological data from Hallowell Moss, County Durham and Thinhope Bum in the Tyne basin saw little activity associated with clearance until early historic times (Donaldson and Rackham 1977). More recent research based on alluvial sequences within the north-eastern river valleys supports this picture. Indeed, at Farnley Haughs on the Tyne alluvial studies suggest little activity prior to the Iron Age (Macklinet al 1992).

Dates available for 'Bronze Age' clearances generally fall around the early to middle second millennium BC, as evidenced at Wheeldale Gill (1400 +/- 80 be [1880-1610 CAL BC] T.1100) and Fen Bogs (1450 +/- 90 be [1830-

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