Scotland: 14,000 year old flint tools discovered

ferdi

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7992300.stm

Digging up the Mac flint stones
The diggers near Biggar
The flints were found in a ploughed field near Biggar

Archaeologists have discovered the earliest evidence of human beings ever found in Scotland.

The flints were unearthed in a ploughed field near Biggar in South Lanarkshire.

They are similar to tools known to have been used in the Netherlands and northern Germany 14,000 years ago, or 12,000 BC.

They were probably used by hunters to kill reindeer, mammoth and giant elk and to cut up prey and prepare their skins.

The discovery conjures up a picture of wandering groups of hunters making their way across dry land where the North Sea is now, after the end of the Ice Age.

The details are revealed in the latest edition of British Archaeology magazine.

Hunter gatherers

The editor, Mike Pitts, said the finds were "the most northerly evidence for the earliest people in Britain".

Similar founds have been made in England, but they have mostly been south of the river Humber.
One of the flints
This pointed flint would have been used as an arrow head

Up until now, the earliest evidence for humans in Scotland has come from sites such as Cramond, near Edinburgh.

Waste pits and discarded hazelnut shells found there have been dated to about 8,500 BC.

Tam Ward, from the Biggar Archaeology Group, which carried out the dig, said: "To push Scotland's human history back by nearly 4,000 years is remarkable."

"We didn't set out to do that," he added. "What we wanted to do was tell the story of the landscape."

He warned that "a lot of people won't believe this. Not until they see the hard evidence."

"But it'll be great fun proving them wrong. We've got the physical objects, so we can just put them down on the table and say argue with that".

More evidence

At first the flints were thought to date from the neolithic period - about 3,000 BC.

But their true significance was later realised by Torben Ballin, an expert in stone finds, and Alan Saville from the National Museums of Scotland.

Mr Saville told BBC Scotland: "There would have been a temporary camp site where the flints were found, so there's a faint possibility that there might be post holes and waste pits there."

He added that the chances of finding that evidence were "fairly slim, but we live in hope".

He said the diggers from Biggar were planning to go back to the site in the summer to explore it further.

Historic Scotland provided some funding for the work.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6069957.ece

Flint find at Biggar adds 3,000 years to Scottish man
Ancient mystery: how did neolithic man build such a complex structure as Newgrange

Neolithic man was active in Scotland 14,000 years ago
Charlene Sweeney

Scotland’s oldest settlement, dating back 14,000 years, was near Biggar, in South Lanarkshire, archaeologists say.

The site, in a field north of the town, may have been a camp used by hunters following migrating herds of reindeer or wild horses across plains that are now covered by the North Sea. Its discovery means humans have lived in Scotland for 3,000 years longer than previously thought. Until now the earliest evidence of human habitation in the country was at Cramond, near Edinburgh, which had been radiocarbon-dated to about 8400 BC.

A large scattering of flints was first found in the field near Biggar a few years ago but the site was initially thought to be late Neolithic and was later classified as an Iron Age settlement after radiocarbon dating of charcoal found there.

However, recent analysis of more of the flints revealed that they were from the end of the Upper Palaeolithic period — the Old Stone Age — 14,000 years ago. They are similar to those found in southern Denmark and northern Germany, which have been dated accurately to that time.

Biggar, which is at the crossroads of the Clyde and Tweed valleys, has historically been an important trade centre. Now it is better known as expensive commuter territory and a day-trip destination for residents of Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Alan Saville, senior curator of earliest pre-history at the National Museums of Scotland, who was involved in the research, hailed the discovery as“a breakthrough that we have been hoping to find for years and years”.

He added: “We always thought that there must be Upper Palaeolithic occupation in Scotland but we never actually found material which was conclusive enough, so it is a breakthrough that we can now say there is absolutely no doubt that people were here.

“We’ve pushed back the date of human settlement in Scotland by about 3,000 years.”

The flints were unearthed at Howburn, near Biggar, by the Biggar Archaeology Group and were first thought to be late Neolithic, from around 3000BC.

The find was initially considered significant but interest in the find waned after radiocarbon dating of the charcoal found in shallow pits at the site about three years ago suggested it was an Iron Age settlement from 2000-1000BC.

Their true age was finally discovered when Torben Ballin, an independent lithics specialist, examined the artefacts with the help of funding from Historic Scotland.

The flints, which included end-of-blade scrapers and piercers, were found to date from around 12,000BC. There are parallels between them and items found in mainland Europe.

During that period most of the North Sea was dry land and people would have been able to roam across it, hunting giant elk and other animals.

The Biggar Archaeology Group now plans to carry out further excavations at the site to see what other artefacts it can find.

Tam Ward, the group’s leader, said: “It is impossible to go further back in time in Scotland for evidence of human occupation, making this a hugely significant find.”

The settlement may be ancient for Scotland but it is positively modern compared with finds in England, where there is evidence of a human settlement near Lowestoft on the east coast that dates back 700,000 years. However, Scotland does boast the most complete Neolithic settlement in Europe in Skara Brae, Orkney.

Archaeologists believe early man tried to settle in Britain at least seven times before staying put 12,000 years ago.

The efforts of these early settlers from warmer, southern areas of Europe were thwarted by glaciation, which suggests that the country’s reputation overseas for poor weather has changed little over the years.

Although Neolithic man was very much a hunter, he is also believed to be the world’s first farmer.

Aileen Campbell, the Nationalist MSP for South of Scotland, said that the Biggar find was incredible.

“To know there is hard evidence that human beings had settled in the Biggar area some 14,000 years ago is quite inspiring, and helps put modern life into a bit of perspective,” she said.

“The hard work and dedication shown by the Biggar Archaeology Group, led by Tam Ward, is fantastic. They have contributed a huge piece to Scotland’s story for which they should be immensely proud.”

News of the find is included in the latest issue of British Archaeology Magazine.

Bog Butter

Its not fair! I wish we had some Paleolithic too.

Wibbs

We probably do, just not found yet. I mean britain had homo erectus as far back as 500,000 years ago. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/sussex-site-yields-oldest-human-find-in-britain-1436821.html

I would find it logically unreasonable to presume that the first humans showed up here only 9000 years ago after the last ice age. Yes that's all we have evidence for at the moment, but if they were in Britain that far back, you can be sure they were probably here too, if not around the same time then slightly later, if there was an interglacial land bridge anyway.

Even if there wasn't, the Homo floresiensis/Flores Man discovery if proven to be a pygmy member of home erectus, would show that erectus was capable of pretty impressive sea voyages(no land connection in a million odd years and very treacherous currents in the flores straits).

Actually that's a point, do we know if there was access to here in interglacial periods? Maybe the geologists would the ones to ask. If there were and they can pinpoint the general area where those bridges were, we may find evidence that has been undisturbed by subsequent glaciations. Long shot I grant you.