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

Abstract

Summary. This paper investigates the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the Channel Islands. It presents a new synthesis of all known evidence from the islands c.5000-4300 BC, including several new excavations as well as find-spot sites that have not previously been collated. It also summarizes -in English -a large body of contemporary material from north-west France. The paper presents a new high-resolution sea-level model for the region, shedding light on the formation of the Channel Islands from 9000-4000 BC. Through comparison with contemporary sites in mainland France, an argument is made suggesting that incoming migrants from the mainland and the small indigenous population of the islands were both involved in the transition. It is also argued that, as a result of the fact the Channel Islands witnessed a very different trajectory of change from that seen in Britain and Ireland c.5000-3500 BC, this small group of islands has a great deal to tell us about the arrival of the Neolithic more widely.

Design and Connectivity: The Case of Atlantic Rock Art

“…Although this trend is widely accepted as a global phenomenon, the Neolithic period did not have uniform moments of introduction and development. For the geographical areas concerned in this study, it is worth recapping that whilst the Neolithic 'package' is recognized in Iberia from at least the 6 th millennium cal BC (Bernabeu-Auban and Pardo-Gordo 2017; Martins et al 2015), reaching its NW 1000 years later, and identified in NW France (Brittany) around 5200 BC, it only arrives to the British Isles in 4050 cal BC (Garrow and Sturt 2017;Whittle et al 2011). This discrepancy has important cultural implications, considering that Britain would be receiving its first strand of Neolithisation at the time that Brittany's Early…”

“…Distributional analysis of the alpine axes demonstrated their wide spread including into core areas of this study (Fábregas-Valcarce et al 2015;Pétrequin et al 2008;Pétrequin et al , 2015. We also see polished axes, stone rings and beads, arrowheads, halberds, some daggers and jewellery circulating from the 4 th millennium BC, alongside pottery making traditions, whose forms are imitated elsewhere (Anderson-Whymark and Garrow 2015:67;:1122Garrow and Sturt 2017;Peña-Santos 2003: 70-72;Rodríguez-Rellán et al 2015:137-138). Ceramics are one of the main traits of the Neolithic and are extensively used to characterize strands of Neolithisation and prehistoric movement (e.g.…”

“…The transition from a Mesolithic worldview into a Neolithic is still poorly understood in general, but some recent studies shed light on this process. In most cases, explanations involve maritime expeditions and networks of connectivity which promoted the exchange of ideas, materials and techniques (Anderson-Whymark and Garrow 2015; Bernabeu-Auban and Pardo-Gordo 2017; Garrow and Sturt 2011; Garrow and Sturt 2017;Martins et al 2015;Pétrequin et al 2013;Sheridan 2003Sheridan , 2004Sheridan , 2007Zilhão 1993Zilhão , 2000Zilhão , 2014. This tendency endured in time and intensified in the following periods.…”

Nonlinear landscape and cultural response to sea-level rise

“…Would this have been perceptible to individuals and communities and in oral tradition? There is lithic ( 16 , 21 ) and palynological evidence ( 22 , 23 ) for seasonal occupation on Scilly during the Late Mesolithic, with more persistent settlement during the Middle Neolithic suggested from land clearance, ceramics, and agricultural practice ( 22 , 23 ). During these periods, the average loss in land area reduced from ~15.5 km 2 per millennium in the Early Holocene to ~12.5 km 2 per millennium during the Mid-Holocene.…”

“…The migration of coastal communities displaced by this sea-level rise is a possible cause for the spread of the Neolithic transition throughout Europe ( 13 , 15 ). Rising sea levels may also have offered new opportunities for migration across northwest Europe via the expanding seaways ( 16 , 17 ). As well as opportunities, however, rising sea levels pose a range of threats (flooding, coastal erosion, land loss, habitat, and resource loss) to coastal communities.…”