This thesis research involves a macrofossil analysis of late Mesolithic – early Neolithic sediment horizons from the rare remains of a submerged forest site at the Bay of Ireland on west-Mainland...Show moreThis thesis research involves a macrofossil analysis of late Mesolithic – early Neolithic sediment horizons from the rare remains of a submerged forest site at the Bay of Ireland on west-Mainland Orkney. It serves as part of a wider, multidisciplinary investigation of Orkney’s early prehistoric environment. The results of the analysis facilitated a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction that indicated the presence of a late Mesolithic tidal saltmarsh. The data also suggested that, due to Orkney’s prevalent stormy weather, the formation of a coastal barrier initiated the saltmarsh’s evolution into a freshwater wetland. By the early Neolithic, the site consisted of a partially wooded fen. Throughout this process human activity does not appear to have affected the local vegetation, though some animal grazing may have occurred. Comparison with other Orcadian palaeoenvironmental work revealed this vegetational ecology and succession to be a recurrent feature of Orkney’s early prehistoric environment. Three investigations conducted at other bays around the Mainland also described similar floristic communities that underwent comparable transformations due to the same process of coastal morphology. Significantly, two of these sites, like the Bay of Ireland, did not indicate any anthropogenic influence on the vegetation until after the onset of the Neolithic period. The results of this thesis research tentatively suggest that while saltmarshes may have comprised a type of common ground within the early prehistoric Orcadian landscape, they did not constitute important exploitation environments to the first settlers of the Orkney Isles. Future research is recommended to test this hypothesis.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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The Neumark-Nord 2 site is a shallow sedimentary basin securely dated to the Eemian interglacial and located near Leipzig (Sachsen-Anhalt), Germany. Neumark-Nord 2 is a complex site with an...Show moreThe Neumark-Nord 2 site is a shallow sedimentary basin securely dated to the Eemian interglacial and located near Leipzig (Sachsen-Anhalt), Germany. Neumark-Nord 2 is a complex site with an extensive, continuous stratigraphy and multiple find horizons comprising a wealth in faunal remains and lithic artefacts. It is an important archaeological site that provides solid evidence for the presence of Neanderthals during the Eemian interglacial in this area. The spatial analyses conducted for this Research Master’s thesis shows that the lithic artefacts dating to the Eemian interglacial appear within four distinct ‘bands’ across the geological layers and layer groups NN 2/1 B, NN 2/1 C, NN 2/2 B and NN 2/2 C. All artefact typology classes are present throughout these lithic artefact horizons and there is no strong pattern to their distribution across or within these geological layers. Only tentative evidence was found that the lithic artefacts may be associated with the more friable, in the field designated as ‘sandier’, geological layers, which themselves may be the result of the transgression-regression cycles of the sedimentary basin’s growing and receding shores. However, more in depth research into the exact dimensions and potential post-depositional displacement of the lithic artefacts is necessary to allow a definitive conclusion. The lithic artefact horizons comprise the first 3.000 years of the Eemian interglacial which largely constitutes the early temperate Corylus phase (Zone IV). Neanderthals were thus present well into the interglacial, possibly at separate occasions, at this locality.Show less
