Stepping Stones to the Neolithic? Radiocarbon Dating the Early Neolithic on Islands Within the ‘Western Seaways’ of Britain

Abstract

The western seaways -an arc of sea stretching from the Channel Islands in the south, up through the Isles of Scilly, the Isle of Man, and the Outer Hebrides to Orkney in the north -have long been seen as crucial to our understanding of the processes which led to the arrival of the Neolithic in Britain and Ireland in the centuries around 4000 cal BC. The western seaways have not, however, been considered in detail within any of the recent studies addressing the radiocarbon chronology of the earliest Neolithic in that wider region. This paper presents a synthesis of all existing 5th and 4th millennia cal BC radiocarbon dates from islands within the western seaways, including 50 new results obtained specifically for this study. While the focus here is insular in a literal sense, the project's results have far reaching implications for our understanding of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Britain and Ireland and beyond. The findings broadly fit well with the Gathering Time model of Whittle et al., suggesting that the earliest dated Neolithic in this zone falls into the c. 3900-3700 cal BC bracket. However, it is also noted that our current chronological understanding is based on comparatively few dates spread across a large area. Consequently, it is suggested that both further targeted work and an approach that incorporates an element of typo-chronology (as well as absolute dating) is necessary if we are to move forward our understanding of the processes associated with the appearance of the first Neolithic material culture and practices in this key region.

Neolithic crannogs: rethinking settlement, monumentality and deposition in the Outer Hebrides and beyond

“…2600 cal BC (at 95 per cent confidence) (the latter phases of the site are currently not well defined chronologically; Garrow et al . 2017a: 115; see also Copper & Armit 2018). The best-preserved layers contained stone walls, stone-built hearths, postholes and spreads of occupation debris including 22 000 sherds of pottery.…”

“…Consequently, some scholars have suggested that there may have been a surge in social competition due to pressure on land (Sharples 1992: 327; Armit 1996: 76).

Figure 4.Distribution of known Early/Middle Neolithic tombs, ‘settlements’ (with buildings), ‘occupation sites’ (more ephemeral traces of settlement) and islet sites in the Outer Hebrides, with key sites labelled (data from Canmore.org.uk and Garrow & Sturt 2017). Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2019.

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The Mesolithic–Neolithic Transition in the Channel Islands: Maritime and Terrestrial Perspectives

“…It is difficult to say a great deal about the third site to have produced BVSG cordons pottery, at L'Ouzière, Jersey, since it has not been excavated; external residues on the pottery produced a date of c .5050–4850 cal BC (Garrow et al . ). However, if, as it seems, it is indeed an occupation deposit without any associated features, again this would place it in a minority category of site for this period on the mainland.…”

“…While the Neolithic of the Channel Islands is very well known for its monumental record, when dealing with the Earlier Neolithic the evidence from tombs does not feature much at all. With the single exception of the Les Fouaillages long mound (whose earliest phases date to c .4940–4720 cal BC; see Garrow et al ), the earliest tombs on the islands (passage graves) would probably have been constructed after c .4300 bc (e.g. Schulting et al .…”

Neolithic Farming and Wild Plant Exploitation in Western Britain: Archaeobotanical and Crop Stable Isotope Evidence from Wales (c. 4000–2200 calbc)

“…This paper focuses on the introduction of agriculture into Wales, a predominantly mountainous area in western Britain. Situated at the intersection between several regions, notably the Irish Sea Zone to the west and mainland Britain to the east, Wales represents an important area for understanding the onset and diffusion of the Neolithic (eg, Lynch 2000;Sheridan 2007;McLaughlin et al 2016;Garrow et al 2017). However, Neolithic farming practices in Wales have received very little attention and there has been an over-reliance on evidence from a handful of wellknown sites.…”