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Free Essays - History Essays

Discuss the evidence for agriculture in later prehistoric Britain. How successful was the farming system?

Abstract

Various studies on the evolutionary patterns of Homo sapiens all agree that the species originally migrated from what is known as the 'cradle of civilization' which is commonly agreed to be in Hadar, Ethiopia. This is the site where the remains of a young girl, who was given the name 'Lucy', were found. Carbon dating estimates that 'Lucy' lived approximately 3.6 to 3 million years ago. Migration patterns in prehistoric times has been determined to have occurred as a result of groups moving (migrating), from one area to another, similar to the pattern of birds and mammals, rather than individuals wandering singularly. Human skeletal remains indicate that the migratory pattern started approximately 150,000 years ago as some inhabitants left Africa for the Near East (Mesopotamia) and then eastward into Australasia (now known as Australia, New Guinea and some small islands on the eastern region of Indonesia) around 60,000 years hence. The pattern continued into Europe along with Asia approximately 40,000 years ago, and into the American continent (30,000), and then Oceania (15,000).

Sometime between 40,000 and 35,000 years ago groups migrated to Britain via a land bridge which existed at that time. Rising water levels isolated the these peoples who were thus free from outside tribal conflicts allowing them to have a separate developmental pattern. This era has been termed the post glacial period (Holocene, 10,500 - 9,900BP), which followed the Younger Dryas. During this time frame the weather changed, warming to the point where it approximated today's climate. Historically it has been estimated that this occurred around 9,500BP. As glacial formations melted the ocean levels rose, isolating Britain from the rest of Europe.

The preceding brief prehistoric summary provides the background to understand the general circumstances that led to the Neolithic period (4,500BC), where farming (later prehistoric Britain), in the context of this paper, began. The warming during the later Holocene period included exceptionally high levels of rainfall that water logged areas adjacent to rivers helping to further enrich the soil. Britain was primary a forested landscape whereby the soil was feed continued nutrients through fallen trees and leaves reclaimed by nature. Our examination of agriculture will look at the Neolithic period (approximately 4500BC, also known as the New Stone Age), to reach a determination as to if the inhabitants were farmers, and the degree of success in growing crops as a dietary staple.

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Britain experienced its last ice ages around 70,000BP and approximately 10000BP with archeological evidence indicating that extremely cold weather conditions occurred around 18000BP and again in 13000BP. It is believed that these conditions caused the inhabitants to cross the glacial land bridge to continental Europe, later returning around 10000BP as evidenced by Gough's Cave, located in Somerset. Normal temperate zone climatic conditions stabilized in approximately 6500BP, the forest emerged and the land supported large herds of aurochs, deer and elk. Plentiful game along with the domestication of the dog in the Mesolithic period, which was utilized in hunting, provided the main source of sustenance. This period (Mesolithic) is also referred to in human development terms as early Postglacial hunter-gatherer The social changes in moving from a hunter-gatherer society to settlements provides the correlation to define when society began farming and herding animals as hunter-gatherers did not maintain singular locations. In this transitional period causewayed enclosures were built. These locations indicate that they were not permanent but rather hilltop sites visited by inhabitants during varied periods, as proven by the finding of human remains.

This development preceded a shift to permanent locations, and thus a change from a hunter-gatherer way of life to one where a stabile source of food, enabled inhabitants to remain in one location. Termed the Neolithic Revolution, the transition to a settlement lifestyle is a result of success in raising food rather than hunting.

Chapter 2 - Neolithic Farming

Societal changes occurred over a long period of time as inhabitants shifted from a hunter-gatherer existence utilizing the causewayed enclosures as temporary locations. A change to settlements also introduces a society in which individual hunting prowess no longer predominates the way of life as adequate food can be obtained. Further scientific support of the foregoing is supplied by the archeological evidence of henges and long Barrows These are tombs of earth, earthen long barrows, as well as large stones which are called megalithic or chambered long barrows. The latter held anywhere from one (1) to approximately fifty (50) inhabitants. These structures were also centers of religious activity with only a segment, roughly one percent (1%) of the existing population buried in these locations. The existence of causewayed camps, estimated as 3500BC, long barrows, passage graves and stone circles (3300BC), are conclusive evidence of settled societies, which can only be accomplished by the maintenance of successful food supplies.

The more than 900 stone circles further attests to the preceding. The energy, amount of time and effort in planning and locating the stones to build these structures can only be accounted for by circumstances whereby inhabitants had a reliable local source of food, and more importantly it indicates that these inhabitants were successful enough at this so as to provide them with the time to construct these monuments. The most famous of these sites, Stonehenge, was not built by the Druids as archeological evidence shows it predates that civilization by a few thousand years. As indicated, hunter-gatherers do not maintain or settle in any location long enough to construct anything but the simplest type of temporary shelters and associated living aids. The existence of barrow mounds (2200BC a new type of tomb thought to have been built by the Beaker People), along with hill forts, are proof of the shift to permanent sites in the late Neolithic age due to various site construction remains.

Carbon dating of wild game indicates the heavy reliance upon animals as a dietary staple a game was hunted to extinction or near extinction during the indicated period;

• Irish Elk;

The extremely large antlers found to represent these 800kg animals indicates the probability of them moving freely in a forest type region as doubtful. Scientific research suggests that this species became extinct as a result of climatic conditions rather than hunting, and that this occurred around 9000BP.

• Elk (Reindeer)

One of the main dietary staples from 9670BP through 8300BP, remains are located often in cave deposits and evidence suggests that the change in climate rather than hunting helped to contribute to their extinction as well.

C. Aurochs

The earliest discovery of this prehistoric equivalent of today's domesticated cattle have been found at Fengate in Peterborough which via carbon dating is estimated to have been 2500BC. This find was found buried in a large deep pit and the last finds for this type of animal where approximately the 10th century AD, during the Roman period.

The disappearance of large numbers of wild game, along with the building of at first occasional and then permanent structures as well as the herding of Aurocks provides evidence that the late Neolithic age inhabitants of Britain were eating in sufficient quantities to sustain them in one location.

Chapter 3 - Conclusion

The establishment of permanent settlements as well as evidence that reveals animal domestication (Aurocks), supports the conclusion that early period Neolithic inhabitants gradually shifted from hunter-gatherer societies to communities. However, there is no evidence that supports the conclusion of how successful farming efforts were during this later Neolithic settlement culture. Recent scientific isotope studies provide a clearer picture of the diet composition during this period.

While continental Europe archeological finds have provided evidence to equate successful farming with the establishment of late Neolithic period cultures, this same developmental timeline does not prove to be true for Britain. The lack of farmer settlements and fields is the reason for the absence of a consensus among archeologists, and this viewpoint is further supported by the utilization of isotope studies. Through an examination of Neolithic period inhabitant bones, a study encompassing twenty-three (23) individuals, it was found that their diet consisted of a primary reliance upon animals for food along with by-products such as cheese and milk. The subject bones are dated between the periods 4100BC through 2000BC. The foundation for this study is based upon the fact that stabile isotopes provide information as to the main dietary components throughout a person's life. A specific isotope provides information as to whether an individual's primary diet was animal or plant based. Simply put, if the subject's results show an affinity to those of a herbivore such as a horse or cattle, this means that their diet was primary composed of plant intake. The reverse is also true. If the results show an affinity to a carnivore such as wolf or fox, then the primary dietary intake was provided by meat.

The results were compared against subject bones from a later time period, the Iron and Romano-British eras where tests showed the isotope content values to be higher that herbivores. The late Neolithic period study indicated conclusively that the dietary regime was primary composed of meat, and related animal by products (cheese and milk). The existence of permanent settlements attests to the successful raising of herds as the primary food source. This does not rule out the existence of farming, however, the lack of farm type settlements and fields indicates little reliance was placed upon this as the dietary staple. Neolithic specialist Andrew Sherrat supports this hypothesis and stated that the inhabitants of this time period relied on animal herding and by products rather than crops.

The existence of scientific isotope research along with the lack of crop fields and land cleared for this purpose indicates that the residents of later prehistoric Britain continued with the use of meat as a dietary staple, with the process of converting to crop based diets surfacing in a later time period. And while there is evidence of both agricultural tools and grain at Neolithic locations, the isotopes study results indicate that this as a minor component of their diet. The foregoing therefore does not either support or reject the question posed by this paper as to the success of late Neolithic period inhabitants in growing crops, but rather that their preference for a meat diet is a continuation of their hunter-gatherer existence carried over into settlements as a result of their animal husbandry.

Bibliography

4000 BC to 1500 BC Stone Age Man and the First Farmers. 2005. 4000 BC to 1500 BC Stone Age Man and the First Farmers. http://www.great-britain.co.uk/history/stoneage.htm

Council for British Archaeology. 1996. British Archaeology, No. 12, March 1996: Features. Human Prehistory. 2005. The First Humans. http://users.hol.gr/~dilos/prehis/prerm3.htm

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