The southern North Sea and the human occupation of northwest Europe after the Last Glacial Maximum

Abstract

This paper discusses the significance of the southern North Sea for research on the human occupation of northwest Europe after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Recent insight into the survival of post-LGM land surfaces and palaeolandscape structures points to the potential preservation of Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites in this area. Finds of well-preserved materials (including artefacts of bone, antler and wood, as well as human remains) from various zones along the Dutch and British coasts corroborate this idea, whilst underwater excavations of eroding sites at Bouldnor Cliff (UK) and Maasvlakte-Rotterdam (NL) underpin the possibilities of gaining further insight into human behaviour in the context of submerging landscapes. Although the significance of the southern North Sea with regard to the Mesolithic is gradually exposed, there is still a lot to learn. The terrestrial archaeological records from both sides of the present-day North Sea yield indisputable evidence for hunter-gatherer presence from at least 13,000 BP. Successions of Magdalenian/Creswellian/ Hamburgian, Federmesser Gruppen and Ahrensburgian people (re)colonised the northwest European plain, interrupted by short-lived cold spells. Although it is expected that the southern North Sea must have been inhabited, and maybe even more intensively than the present-day dry land, archaeological evidence is still missing. Despite the presence of vast amounts of mammalian remains and the availability of many radiocarbon-dated bones, there is a striking lack of material post-dating the LGM and pre-dating the Holocene, whilst remains dated to the early Upper Palaeolithic show no evidence of human interference. At this stage, it is probable that taphonomic factors and research biases are responsible for this picture. This marks a sharp contrast with the early Holocene record, where numerous Mesolithic artefacts, as well as human remains, provide evidence for human occupation of the area. Materials are exposed on the sea floor, evidencing gradual erosion of early Holocene land surfaces. Although the number of sites is increasing, little is known yet about how the submerged record can be connected to the terrestrial record. Indeed, the central question here is how the submerged Mesolithic record compares to, or differs from, the terrestrial record. In order to answer this question, targeted archaeological research is needed, along with an understanding of taphonomic processes and increased insight into landscape dynamics. From a northwest European perspective, the present state of knowledge about the submerged post-LGM prehistoric archaeology of the southern North Sea demonstrates its huge research potential.

Sedimentary DNA from a submerged site reveals wheat in the British Isles 8000 years ago

“…The Neolithic arrived on the British mainland during a warming period in which sea levels rose and inundated land between Britain and Europe, forming the English Channel and much of the North Sea [3][4][5][6][7] . We hypothesized that the earliest stages of Neolithisation in the British Isles occurred in these lowland regions.…”

Practical approaches to management of the marine prehistoric environment

“…The presence of freshwater and salt-marsh peat in cores and some dredges, and indeed the discovery of Mesolithic artefacts within patches of these peats (Louwe Kooijmans, 1970/71;Verhart, 1995;Peeters & Momber, 2014), constitute clear evidence of former coastal environments. Other kinds of depositional settings that were considered most favourable for human occupation or use, including infilling valleys, river deltas and some tidal and back-barrier environments, are also likely to preserve archaeological material relatively well, especially if buried reasonably deep.…”

“…We have also noted above the need to adopt an ecosystem approach (as outlined by Atkins et al, 2011) and to develop predictive frameworks (Verhagen & Whitley, 2012) to develop thinking on such issues. Part of understanding the nature of the threat is to understand the uncertainties, and these are discussed by Roebroeks (2014) and Peeters & Momber (2014). In the interim, the increase in development in the waters around the UK has perhaps prompted the increase in the number of guidance and 'best-practice' documents for development-led archaeology in the marine and coastal environment.…”

“…see Green, 1990;Delgado, 1998;Ballard, 2008), but rather on the use of scientific wisdom to guide cultural heritage management. We thus describe key ingredients for a research-based approach to the management of submerged prehistoric sites and landscapes, drawing on current insights into the geology and archaeology of the southern North Sea (see Cohen et al, 2014;van Heteren et al, 2014;Roebroeks, 2014;Peeters & Momber, 2014). This paper is structured around an analysis of three key issues: (a) understanding the natural and anthropogenic contexts -do we know enough?…”

Predictive Modelling of Younger Dryas Archaeological Remains in Southern Flevoland (Central Netherlands)

“…Due to this Holocene cover, YD archaeological remains are likely to be well-preserved, indicating the potential of this area to study YD landscape exploitation. Also, the Pleistocene surface in the North Sea area has a high potential for future studies on landscape exploitation (see Peeters & Momber, 2014).…”