Today, large amounts of Pleistocene fossils and prehistoric artefacts are encountered in the nets of bottom trawling fishing vessels and found on beaches along the Dutch coast. Interestingly, these...Show moreToday, large amounts of Pleistocene fossils and prehistoric artefacts are encountered in the nets of bottom trawling fishing vessels and found on beaches along the Dutch coast. Interestingly, these finds do not derive from the current mainland but originate from a prehistoric land currently submerged beneath the North Sea. This land, known to us as ‘Doggerland’, extended across major parts of the North Sea during times when the sea level was more than 50 meters lower than today. The area consisted of diverse landscapes that ranged from tundra plains, during the glacial periods, to forested areas and coastal swamps, during warmer interglacial periods. These prehistoric landscapes were home to a large number of animal and plant species, and consequentially offered attractive environments for prehistoric hunter-gatherer groups. The fact that remains from Doggerland are encountered today demonstrates that at least parts of these prehistoric landscapes have been preserved beneath the seabed. However, at the same time, the finds indicate that the submerged prehistoric remains are being disturbed and displaced from their original or derived context. The disturbance can be attributed to offshore industrial activities, such as the fishing industry and sand extraction activities. Through their exploitation of the seabed, a large amount of fossil bones and artefacts resurface in the fishing nets and on sand suppleted beaches along the Dutch coast. Besides that, considering that certain offshore industrial activities will expand in response to the renewable energy transition and the ever-rising sea level, major parts of Doggerland are likely to be lost in the future. On the other hand, the nature and extent of the offshore industrial disturbances in relation to the submerged prehistoric remains are far from certain. This applies to today and the future especially. The following thesis, therefore, investigates the impacts of trawling activities, sand extraction and offshore wind generation on the seabed sediments, taking into account the depositional context, taphonomic processes as well as the current hydrodynamic conditions that have altered these deposits already.Show less
This research attempted to answer the following question: ‘What was the function of the Mesolithic small (<88,5mm) barbed bone points from the North Sea and what does this contribute to our...Show moreThis research attempted to answer the following question: ‘What was the function of the Mesolithic small (<88,5mm) barbed bone points from the North Sea and what does this contribute to our understanding of subsistence strategies of the inhabitants of the North Sea Basin?’ In order to answer this question an assemblage of 28 archaeological small barbed bone points – that originate from the North Sea in front of the Dutch coast of Zuid-Holland – was studied. This thesis started in chapter 1 with an outline of research that was already conducted on these points by Verhart (1986; 1988; 2000) Tsiopelas (2010) and Spithoven (2016). Thereafter, it was explained in chapter 2 how the research was conducted: literature research, experimental archaeology and use wear analysis. In chapter 3, it was outlined how these points fit within the archaeological context: Mesolithic Doggerland. The shooting experiment conducted for this research was discussed in chapter 4 and in chapter 5 the results of this experiment were compared with the results of the use wear analysis. The use wear analysis was conducted on 28 archaeological points in comparison to six experimental points from the shooting experiment. In chapter 6, the social factors which could have influenced the life history of the points were discussed, as well as their function and the representativeness of this research. In the concluding chapter of this thesis (7) the research question was answered followed by a review of the used methods and suggestions for future research. The function of the small barbed bone points from Mesolithic Doggerland could be inferred from the use wear analysis. The points are all (heavily) curated weapon tips. They have developed a high degree of wear and about half of the studied points have remains of reworked barbs present as well. The research area is only a small area of Mesolithic Doggerland which already yielded about 800 of these small barbed bone/antler points. The curation of these points, the function as weapon tips and the overrepresentation within the archaeological record of Mesolithic Doggerland suggests that these weapons were used very frequently. Therefore, it can be inferred that hunting was one an important subsistence strategy. The most used hunting weapon could have been the bow and arrow because the small points are interpreted as arrowheads. However, the use wear analysis could not confirm that the points were specifically used as arrowheads.Show less
