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. 2019 Jul 17;14(7):e0219094.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219094. eCollection 2019.

Mesolithic projectile variability along the southern North Sea basin (NW Europe): Hunter-gatherer responses to repeated climate change at the beginning of the Holocene

Philippe Crombé  1
Affiliations

Mesolithic projectile variability along the southern North Sea basin (NW Europe): Hunter-gatherer responses to repeated climate change at the beginning of the Holocene

Philippe Crombé. PLoS One. .

Abstract

This paper investigates how former hunter-gatherers living along the southern North Sea coast in NW Europe adapted to long-term and short-term climatic and environmental changes at the beginning of the Holocene. It is argued that contemporaneous hunter-gatherers repeatedly changed their hunting equipment in response to changing climate and environment, not just for functional reasons but mainly driven by socio-territorial considerations. Based on a Bayesian analysis of 122 critically selected radiocarbon dates a broad chronological correlation is demonstrated between rapid changes in the design and technology of stone projectiles and short but abrupt cooling events, occurring at 10.3, 9.3 and 8.2 ka cal BP. Combined with the rapid sea level rises and increased wildfires these climatic events probably impacted the lifeways of hunter-gatherers in such a way that they increasingly faced resource stress and competition, forcing them to invest in the symbolic defense of their social territories.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author has declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Elevation map (European Union, Copernicus Land Monitoring Service 2019, European Environment Agency (EEA)) with indication of the main rivers in the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt region.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Microlith composition of the eight ATs defined within the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt region.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Modelled start and end date of the different ATs and their associated microlithic forms.
The chronology of the ERD-events is based on [–31].
Fig 4
Fig 4. General distribution maps of the ATs within the RMS region.
Source map (European Union, Copernicus Land Monitoring Service 2019, European Environment Agency (EEA)).
Fig 5
Fig 5. Palaeogeographic models of the North Sea drowning from 11,000 to 8000 cal BP.
Map produced in part from Ordnance Survey Digimap, SeaZone solutions and GEBCO 08 (www.gebco.net) data. Produced by F. Sturt (University of Southampton).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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