Tag Archive: neolithic

Sahara Desert Rock Art, Documenting Climate Change

Sleeping Antelope Sahara Rock Art

Sleeping Antelope Sahara Rock Art – Wikipedia

As anyone who knows me can attest, one of the photographic subjects I find most fascinating is rock art. Such art offers a window into the lives and minds of people who lived hundreds and in most cases thousands of years ago. Without a common language or reference, such art often leaves us with more questions than answers, while at the same time reminding us of our connection to the people who created them. The fascinating aspect of the Sahara cave paintings and petroglyphs is that they give us an extra element of detail about the world of their creators that you generally don’t get in the American Southwest, and other places.  We know this, because of the animals and human activities they drew on walls thousands of years ago, are in most cases completely incompatible with the Sahara we see today.  They even show us through the animals depicted at different times, how life in the Sahara was changing, so much so that the various dating periods for the rock art in this area have been defined by the animals displayed. The earliest rock art shows animals that are either completely extinct or which haven’t lived near the Sahara for thousands of years. While more recent rock art displays animals like horses and cattle that were able to live in the Sahara in more recent times, but no longer. And finally, the last prehistoric examples, show animals like the camel which are recent transplants from Arabia, that are among the only large animals that can withstand the Sahara as it currently is.

While some may be skeptical about the ability of such art to give us an accurate picture, other research techniques have since proven, from the study of ocean cores off the West coast of Africa to the finding of freshwater fossils, and lake bed soils in the middle of the Sahara desert, that the Sahara has undergone numerous and repeated climatic changes over at least the last 2 million years. These cycles have shifted it from a bone-dry desert to a lush green landscape sporting some of the biggest lakes in Africa. And the transition from wet to dry has been at times dramatic even on the scale of a single human lifetime.  What the prehistoric rock art shows us, is merely the latest wet to dry cycle in a much longer story about climate.

Here are a few of the places where the Sahara’s dramatic and recent changes have been captured.

Tassili n’Ajjer (Find It) – is a large plateau in south-east Algeria famous for its cave paintings.  Not surprisingly the area remains one of the few places in the Sahara where vegetation and animal life retain a foothold. This is in part due to its altitude and the water holding properties of the soil and rock that make up the plateau. Among the 15,000 carvings found in the area, are depictions of elephants, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, crocodiles, antelope, wild sheep, cattle herding, and horse-drawn chariots. The oldest rock art in the area has been dated to 10,000 B.C.

Because of the importance and abundance of prehistoric rock art in this area, it was designated a national park in 1972.

Acacus Mountains (Find It– In these mountains located on the border of southern Libya and Algeria are depictions of giraffes, elephants, ostriches, camels, and horses.

Ennedi Mountains (Find It) – much of the rock art in this area is of a more recent variety, and displays animals that have lived in the Sahara during historic times, such as camels. Probably the best example is the cave art of Manda Guéli.

Sabu-Jaddi (Find It) – this rock art site, located in today’s Sudan, depicts life in ancient Nubia and features both domestic and wild animals. Animals depicted that are extinct in the Sahara include hippopotamus, crocodiles, giraffe, leopards, and antelope.

Cave of Swimmers (Find It), is a cave in southwestern Egypt, named after what has been interpreted as to be rock art of humans swimming. Other drawings in the cave display giraffe and hippopotamus. The rock art is believed to be from around 10,000 B.C.

Recommended Websites:
Trust for African Rock Art
Bradshaw Foundation African Rock Art Archive

Videos:
When The Sahara Desert Was Green

The Rise of Ancient Egypt 

It has been speculated that it was this dramatic and sudden shift in climate that drove many people who lived in the Sahara to the Nile Valley, and to later form the civilization of Ancient Egypt.  With its predictable water supply from the mountains of Ethiopia, the Nile River, and the fertile soils that surround it offered one of the few remaining refuges within the Sahara’s inhospitable vastness.

Suggested Reading:

Rock Art in Africa: Mythology and Legend – Jean-Loic Le Quellec
What Really Turned the Sahara Desert From a Green Oasis Into a Wasteland?
Green Sahara: African Humid Periods Paced by Earth’s Orbital Changes
National Geographic: Lost Tribes of the Green Sahara

Wales, the Channel Islands and other Stone Age Sites of Britain

Part III – Wales, the Channel Islands and Other Stone Age Sites of Britain

See Also:
Part I – Scotland: Stone Age Sites of Britain
Part II – England: Stone Age Sites of Britain

Pentre Ifan Dolmen

Pentre Ifan Dolmen – Wikipedia

Paleolithic (2.6 million B.C. – 10,000 B.C.):  The first evidence of a human ancestor living in Britain comes from a set of 50 fossilized footprints left in an ancient streambed near the town of Happisburgh in County Norfork, England, about 850,000-950,000 B.C. These early arrivals to Britain would have come at a time when most of Britain was connected to mainland Europe via a now submerged area of the North Sea, known as Doggerland.  The Paleolithic was a time of monumental fluctuations in climate, that led to significant sea level variation, vegetation and animal life changes, and the spread and retreat of giant glacial icefields. These changes also affected the spread and retreat of early human populations, and it appears at times the complete depopulating of Britain.

Most of the evidence gathered to date comes from preserved human and animal remains, and stone tool fragments.

Video:
Doggerland Time Team Documentary (BBC)

Mesolithic (11,000 to 5,500 B.C.):  The Mesolithic in Britain is marked by the first permanent habitation of Britain by modern humans, and a gradual warming of the climate that saw a change in the landscape from Arctic tundra, to one more temperate that brought about the rapid spread of birch, pine and alder forests. The Mesolithic also saw the final submergence of Doggerland, making Britain into the island it is today.

Neolithic (4,300 – 2,000 BC): As one might imagine, the Neolithic period offers the best-preserved evidence of stone age peoples in Britain, and there are a number of archaeological sites open to the public that offer beautiful examples of the buildings and monuments they constructed. These structures are due in large part to a fundamental shift in the human story, from primitive hunter-gathers to settlement builders focused more and more on agriculture and cattle herding. With the shift to a more stable food supply, Britain also saw a growth in its population and the appearance of permanent settles and buildings designed to last.


WALES

Capel Garmon (Find it) – Was a long barrow tomb constructed around 3,500 B.C. and has been altered somewhat from its original design, as it was used in recent times as a stable. Its entrance was in the opposite direction of the one found today because of this. Several excavations of the site have revealed both pottery and human remains. Only one of the original capstones remains, while the walls of the tomb remain embedded in the earth that surrounds it. [Short Video Tour]

Pentre Ifan, Wales (Find It) – Constructed about 3,500 B.C. Pentre Ifan is perhaps the most famous example of a Dolmen in Britain.  The capstone, the largest of the stones at the site is estimated to be 16ft long, and weigh over 16 tonnes.

Bryn Celli Ddu (Find It) – is a well-preserved passage tomb on the Welsh island of Angelsey, constructed around 3,000 B.C.The passage is about 8 meters long and is covered by a dirt mound. Found within the tomb was an unusual standing stone with curved patterns. This tomb is also constructed inside of a henge, and surrounded a ring of stone.  The tomb is aligned such that light hits the wall at the back of the passage in the days surrounding the Summer Solistice. Both burned and unburned human bones have been found during excavations of the site.

Articles:
Archaeologists use 3D imaging to shed new light on 5,000-year-old Anglesey burial mound
Archaeologists unearth prehistoric ritual area around Bryn Celli Ddu

Barclodiad y Gawres (Find It) – a Neolithic passage tomb on the island of Anglesey.  It has been heavily restored, and unfortunately in some ways that may have made it safer, but not authentic. Past excavations of the site have revealed two sets of human remains, as well the contents of a stew that had been poured over a fire built inside the tomb.  If they have a date for when they had fine dining inside the tomb, I haven’t found it.  One other thing that  Barcloidiad y Gawres is known for is the numerous carved stones found within it.

St Lythans Burial Chamber, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales (Find It) – This dolmen was constructed around 5,000 B.C.
Lligwy Burial Chamber, Anglesey, Wales (Find It) – This dolmen, is more than 5,000 years old, and when excavated in the 1900’s was found to contain the bones of multiple individuals.

Suggested Websites:

Anglesey Heritage
Wales History Map


DOLMEN AND PASSAGE TOMBS OF JERSEY AND GUERNSEY 

At the southern end of Britain, near the coast of France are the small islands of Jersey and Guernsey. What’s remarkable about these two islands, is the sheer number of well-preserved passage tombs and dolmens found on them. I suspect some of this has to do with their relative isolation from major population centers, and the events that come with them.  So we have discussed passage tombs before, but not dolmens. The term dolmen is used liberally at times and in many cases, it’s used to described standing stones that have been capped by another often larger stone. Generally, these monuments are the markers of a tomb of one or more individuals. Dolmen also describes the stone passageways that are left behind from long barrows and passage tombs where the dirt covering over them has completely eroded away. In both cases megalithic stones, weighing tonnes are generally involved.  Dolmens can be found across the world, but interestingly, they are found in abundance in two places at opposite ends of the Earth. These regions include Ireland, Britain and the West Coast of Europe on the one end, and the Korean Penisula on the other. In the case of Europe, the majority were erected during the Neolithic, while those in Korea are more of a Bronze Age phenomenon. While one might immediately ask the question are they all related, other than they were all built by early human societies, I think the jury is still out.

La Hougue Bie, Jersey

La Hougue Bie – Wikipedia

JERSEY

La Hougue Bie (Find It) – is one of the best-preserved Neolithic passage tombs in Europe, and was in use from about 4,000 B.C. until 3,200 B.C. A variety of pieces of pottery, as well as the remains of at least 8 individuals, were found during excavations of the site. The passage tomb is more than 18 meters in length, and the mound above it stands over 12 meters high. As with many passage tombs, its entrance is aligned with a particular astronomical evens. In this case, the sun illuminates the far end of the chamber on the Spring and Fall equinoxes. [Short Video Tour]
La Pouquelaye de Faldouet (Find It) – Used between 4,000-3,200 B.C. this passage tomb offers a 5 meter passageway. While much of the passageway is now uncovered, but it offers a beautiful example of a passage tomb and its construction. Numerous remains, as well as grave goods, were found at the site over the course of several different excavations. [Short Video Tour]
La Sergenté (Find It) – This is one of the most interesting of the group, created in the same 4000-3,200 B.C. timeframe. It exhibits a short passage and a round interior chamber embedded in the earth. Its also believed to have had a beehive-shaped roof that collapsed leaving rubble inside the chamber.
Les Monts Grantez (Find It) – A neolithic passage tomb used between 4000 B.C.-3,200 B.C. Offers a covered passageway. During the examination of the tomb at least 8 individual burials were identified.
Le Dolmen du Couperon (Find It) – this former passage tomb was erected around 3,000 B.C. and measures 8 meters in length. It was also surrounded by eighteen outer stones in a formation known as a peristalith. The tomb has undergone partial reconstruction since it was first excavated in 1868, to fix the roof which over the centuries had collapsed.

Suggested Websites:
Jersey Heritage
Prehistoric Jersey

GUERNSEY

Le Creux es Faies (Find It). First excavated in 1840, this well-preserved Neolithic passage grave dates from 3,000 B.C. to 2,500 B.C., and was found to contain arrowheads, pottery, flint, human bones and animal remains. Over time, the tomb has found its way into Guernsey folklore, as the entrance to the Fairy Kingdom.
Dehus Dolmen (Find It) – another well-preserved passage tomb on the island dates from 3,000 B.C. to 2,500 B.C. It is best known for an unusual carving of a beared man with a bow on the underside of one of its capstones. The tomb was excavated on several occasions, and during one of those, a father and son team found a copper dagger and several rings.
La Varde (Find It) – At more than 10 meters in length, La Varde is the largest surviving passage tomb in the Channel Islands. It was occupied in roughly the same timeframe, from about 3,000 to 2,000 B.C. Excavations at the right revealed a bronze plaque, cremated human remains and various pieces of pottery. A stone circle was also found not far from the tomb.

Suggested Websites:
Visit Guernsey

Suggested Reading:

Britain Begins – Barry Cunliffe
Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland – Bryan Sykes

England: Stone Age Sites of Britain

Part II – England: Stone Age Sites of Britain

See Also:
Part I – Scotland: Stone Age Archaeological Sites of Britain

Part III – Wales, Channel Islands and Other Stong Age Sites of Britain

Stonehenge Stone Layout

Stonehenge Stone Layout – Wikipedia

Paleolithic (2.6 million B.C. – 10,000 B.C.):  The first evidence of a human ancestor living in Britain comes from a set of 50 fossilized footprints left in an ancient streambed near the town of Happisburgh in County Norfork, England, about 850,000-950,000 B.C. These early arrivals to Britain would have come at a time when most of Britain was connected to mainland Europe via a now submerged area of the North Sea, known as Doggerland.  The Paleolithic was a time of monumental fluctuations in climate, that led to significant sea level variation, vegetation and animal life changes, and the spread and retreat of giant glacial icefields. These changes also affected the spread and retreat of early human populations, and it appears at times the complete depopulating of Britain.

Most of the evidence gathered to date comes from preserved human and animal remains, and stone tool fragments.

Video:
Doggerland Time Team Documentary (BBC)

Mesolithic (11,000 to 5,500 B.C.):  The Mesolithic in Britain is marked by the first permanent habitation of Britain by modern humans, and a gradual warming of the climate that saw a change in the landscape from Arctic tundra, to one more temperate that brought about the rapid spread of birch, pine and alder forests. The Mesolithic also saw the final submergence of Doggerland, making Britain into the island it is today.

Neolithic (4,300 – 2,000 BC): As one might imagine, the Neolithic period offers the best-preserved evidence of stone age peoples in Britain, and there are a number of archaeological sites open to the public that offer beautiful examples of the buildings and monuments they constructed. These structures are due in large part to a fundamental shift in the human story, from primitive hunter-gathers to settlement builders focused more and more on agriculture and cattle herding. With the shift to a more stable food supply, Britain also saw a growth in its population and the appearance of permanent settles and buildings designed to last.


WILTSHIRE NEOLITHIC SITES

Wiltshire is a county in southwest England that seems to have been another focal point of Neolithic culture in Britain, or at least of its famed stone monument builders. Quite a few of Britain’s most famous Neolithic sites lay within the county’s boundaries, including Stonehenge and Avebury, and Silbury Hill. I explore these and other sites just as interesting below.

STONEHENGE (Find It) is one those sites that have received so much attention from archaeologists to new age spiritualists that entire books could be written about what has actually been discovered about the site, and what has been speculated about. So I am just going to touch on the highlights, and offer plenty of sources for further reading. Stonehenge has a long history and has gone through many phases, and how it’s reflected today on the landscape, does not necessarily fit what it meant to the very first people who buried their dead here.  And a burial site for cremated remains really was the first use of the Stonehenge site in 3,100 B.C., with any standing stones on the site representing headstones. In time the significance of Stonehenge changed, as we see the first evidence of pillars being erect about 3,000 B.C. But the first pillars were made of wood, not stone. The final phases of Stonehenge, beginning about  2,600 B.C, involved the bringing of the massive Sarsen stones to the site, that make up the giant stone pillars and capstones we see today.  It also saw a repurposing of the smaller stones (known as bluestones) that had been used to mark the location of early graves sites.

If there is one purpose that has remained true to the Stonehenge site through the ages, its that of a place to remember the dead. And like our use of headstones today, the use of stone, a material much more durable than wood and other materials, was no accident.  It allowed people to build a permanent spot they could return to for generations and celebrate their ancestors.

Much has been made of the astroarcheological significance of Stonehenge over the years, and more than a few scientists have tried to make the case that it offers evidence of alignments with significant cosmological events, including both equinoxes and solstices. However, the only concrete evidence in this regard points to Stonehenge as a gathering point during the Winter Solstice. And this evidence comes from the teeth of very young pigs, that shows they were consistently killed about nine months after they were born,  around the Winter Solstice.  The evidence comes from Durrington Walls, another henge site just upriver from Stonehenge, that is believed to have played a part in a larger ceremonial ritual that connected the two sites together. Durrington Walls also provides evidence that suggests for at least 50 years it was the largest known Neolithic settlement in northwest Europe. This 50 year period occurred around the time the large Sarsen stones were erected at Stonehenge. This may indicate that Durrington Wells may well have served not only as a gathering place for the annual Winter Solstice celebration of the dead but also as the work camp for construction of the final stage of Stonehenge. One other piece of evidence gathered from the pig and cows teeth collected at Durrington, is that the people who brought these animals to the annual feast weren’t just locals, but people who came from as far away as Scotland. They know this because of the very specific chemical signature that is stored in teeth when they are formed, and which reflects the soil composition of the place they were raised.

Finally, it seems that soon after the final stage of Stonehenge’s development, a change began to occur in Britain’s culture. The great feasts and gatherings that had marked the site in times past slowly disappeared, people began to bury their dead instead of cremating them, and metal implements of gold and copper, as well as other grave goods, started to show up in burials. This marked the arrival of the technological shift in Britain known as the Bronze Age, and the ideas brought with it from mainland Europe.

Videos:
Nova: Ghosts of Stonehenge
Time Team  The Secrets of Stonehenge
Time Team: Durrington Wells

Suggested Reading:
Stonehenge – A New Understanding: Solving the Mysteries of the Greatest Stone Age Monument – Mike Parker Pearson
Daily Mail: How the builders of Stonehenge 5,000 years ago were almost completely wiped out by mysterious ‘Beaker people’

AVEBURY (Find It) lies only 23 miles from Stonehenge and is the largest known stone henge in the world. It compromises a larger outer ring of megalithic stones, and two inner circles. It was constructed in the same time frame as Stonehenge around 3,000 B.C. Beyond its clear roll in religious or social rituals, its exact purpose remains unknown. I also suspect given its proximity to many of the other Neolithic sites in Wiltshire that all the different sites were connected in some manner or other that made this area special compared to other parts of Britain. There is just too much going on to think otherwise.

WEST KENNET LONG BARROW (Find Itlies roughly twenty miles north of Stonehenge. Long barrows are amongst oldest remaining examples of Neolithic architecture in Britain, and many were built before either Stonehenge or Avebury. In the case of West Kennet, it was constructed around 3,600 B.C., an was used up through about 2,500 B.C. Excavations revealed the bones of at least 46 different individuals buried at the site, over the centuries. And it seems it was not only a place of burial but a site of regular ritual activity that often involved the temporary removal of bones from the tomb. The most likely explanation for this was that some kind of ancestor worship was occurring.

In doing research on long barrows, the question immediately arose, so what is the difference between a long barrow, and a passage tomb. I found the best explanation here, and the answer seems to involve a few things. One, long barrows seem to be the earliest version of what would become passage tombs. Their names also tell you something about their shape, which tends to differ from the larger, rounded passage tombs. And third, and this is just speculation on my part. Most passage tombs are noted for their connection to astronomical events such as the Winter or Summer Solstice. And while some Long Barrows seem to have this feature, it doesn’t seem to be as prevalent.

One last item that seems unresolved to me, is burial practices among the Neolithic culture in Britain.  On the one hand, I have read that cremation of the dead, with almost no grave goods, was predominant. This was the case for example at Stonehenge, which started out as a large cemetery before becoming the monument we see today. Yet the long barrows and passage tombs were all about storing the remains and grave goods of the ancestors, to be revered by future generations. And both examples appear within roughly similar geographic regions and timeframes. And not to confuse the issue, but another type of barrow came into wide use as Neolithic sites like Stonehenge were abandoned. These barrows can be found in significant quantity very close to Stonehenge, however, research suggests these tombs were the result of the Bell Beaker People that entered Britain at the beginning of the Bronze Age and were fundamental in reshaping Britain, and perhaps wiping out the Neolithic farmers that had inhabited the island for thousands of years. The discovery of the skeleton known as the Amesbury Archer is a good example of this group of people.

Here are some other long barrows in England that are worth exploring.
Belas Knap Long Barrow (Find It) – Official Website
Wayland’s Smithy Long Barrow (Find It)  – Official Website
Stoney Littleton Long Barrow (Find It) – Official Website
Wind Mill Tump Long Barrow (Find It) – Official Website
Uley Long Barrow (Find It) – Official Website

Suggested Reading:
Long barrows, dolmens and passage graves
BBC: The Amesbury Archer: The King of Stonehenge?
Schoolboys uncover ‘Amesbury Archer of the North’ at Kirkhaugh burial site

Video
Peter Knight Lecture: West Kennet Long Barrow
The Mysterious Chambered Long Barrow in the Cotswolds

SILBURY HILL (Find It) if you have done any following of British prehistoric archaeology the first thing you probably think of when seeing Silbury Hill is that it’s probably a giant passage tomb. And if it were, it would be the biggest one ever created. But it turns out that while the hill is the biggest manmade prehistoric structure in Europe, it doesn’t seem to have much significance beyond the effort that clearly went into creating and shaping it over the centuries. And it appears based on the latest research of archaeologists, that it was the act of creating Silbury Hill that was more important to the Neolithic people’s of the era, than anything else. And that seems to be a general theme of this prehistoric society…mass communal cooperation on projects that took centuries to construct. It reminds me of the quote – “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in“.

Suggested Reading:

Britain Begins – Barry Cunliffe
Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland – Bryan Sykes

Next: Part III – Wales, Channel Islands and Other Stong Age Sites of Britain