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The Mesolithic Colonization and Agricultural Transition of South-east Ireland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2014

Stanton W. Green  and
Marek Zvelebil
Stanton W. Green
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA 29208
Marek Zvelebil
Affiliation:
Department Archaeology and Prehistory, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN
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Abstract

This paper presents the first systematic archaeological evidence from the early prehistory of south-east Ireland. The research is designed to investigate the colonization of the area during the Mesolithic period and the subsequent transition to agriculture. From a theoretical perspective, we offer a view of indigenous development. That is, we look for continuities between Mesolithic and Neolithic Ireland in terms of technology and settlement. The data, we are gathering include surface and excavated materials. Lithic assemblages were systematically collected from ploughsoils surrounding the Waterford Harbour area during the years 1983 through 1987. These materials are analyzed from the point of view of geography, raw material, reduction sequences, manufacturing technology, and chronological typology to yield an initial glimpse into the rich prehistory of the region and its pattern of settlement. Excavations during 1986, 1987 and 1989 have begun to fill in some detail including the region's first prehistoric barley, a Neolithic radiocarbon date, prehistoric pottery, a rhyolite quarry and several rich lithic assemblages.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , Volume 56 , 1990 , pp. 57 - 88
Copyright
Copyright © The Prehistoric Society 1990

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