Cvrilution of Ifumdns

of tlwse continultie8. 'I'hey deHhc:rately

their social world. Their rut was a symbolic depicUon
ings and so were the subjeet.s, that is,
selected the walls, antler or a piece of bone for their draw
ext, Peter Bogucki (2000) has opined
animals and geometric forms, to be depicted . In this cont
s do reflect, besides other things, an
that the symbolic depiction of animals and human being
e Ruggest that early mod em human~
awareness of the complexity of the physical world. Thes
able to observe with increasing finer
participated in a complex natural world that they were
were thoughtful forag ers rathe r than
resolution. Bogucki (2000) concludes by saying that they
reflex action hunters.
beginning of Shamanism or witch-
These art forms also provide a possible evidence of the
drawing was a ritual in itself (cited in
craft. Count Begouen (1912) has suggested that the act of
es are drawn repeatedly at the same
Fagan 2010). The basis of his statement is the fact that figur
ious drawings. Moreover, many of the
spot in several caves, sometimes superimposed over prev
skilled artistry. A person may have
paintings have been drawn deep inside the caves, requiring
becoming a ritual expert.
specialised in such drawings as a part of the ritual, thus
to have reached its climax around
The brilliance of Upper Palaeolithic cave art is supposed
d have been found to be near cave
12,000 years ago as most of the cave art after this perio
light. These paintings and engravings
entrances and in rock shelters, always exposed to the sun
vanished altogether by 11,000 years
lack naturalism of the earlier period and are said to have
ed as 'Holocene', began replacing the
ago. After 11,000 years ago, a new climatic epoch, tenn
itions, which brought about extinc-
Pleistocene. Holocene was marked by much wanner cond
ted in the Upper Palaeolithic art and
tion of Arctic animals (such as reindeer) frequently depic
level. These climatic changes forced
also led to the covering of plains by forest and rise in sea
in the following section) suited to
humans to follow a different adaptive strategy (discussed
the Upper Palaeolithic gave way to a
forest, river and coast life. The cave and mobiliary art of
complex system of symbols recorded on flat pebbles.

MESOLITHIC CULTURES
ed the Stone Age into Palaeolithic and
John Lubbock, a French prehistorian, in 1862, had divid
ly (cited in Jones 2008). But the sub-
Neolithic representing old and new Stone Age respective
g methods after 1950, raised doubts
sequent researches and application of more advanced datin
that Neolithic was found to be much
about such a division. These doubts arose from the fact
nd 12,000 years ago. Moreover, cul-
recent than the period of the end of the Palaeolithic, arou
beginning of food production, was
tural developments of the Neolithic period, consequent upon
olithic hunter-gatherers. This led the
foun d to be remarkably advanced than that of the Palae
ral development leading to recogni-
prehistorians to reconsider the chronology of human cultu
Neolithic, namely, 'Mesolithic' or the
tion of an intem1ediate stage between Palaeolithic and
accepted that without the important
'Middle Stone Age'. By 1970s and 1980s, it was widely
ago in many parts of the world, the
adaptations that took place between 12,000 and 8,000 years
been impossible. Grahame Clark
:subsequent development of the hun1an society would have
e' that linked the Palaeolithic and the
( 1977) is of the opinion that it was the 'Mesolithic bridg
ns such as Europe and Southwest
~<.>CJliihic, restoring the continuity of historical record in regio
n. Subsequently, the Mesolithic
Asia. whkh proved crucial to the development of civilisatio
r,nio<l eam<· to ve recognised as an independent perio
d in its own right, representing a period
future human society.
of post- PJeiswcene adaptations crucial for the growth of
·- -AnQien-tandM.;ru;~,
-•
World l'th' ,
'Meso 1 1c
Evolutron of Humam -
-- --
. Climate and the Term_,:,,.,atic condit. .ion that coincid ~ ontrar y to the traditional views, it has now been sugges
ted that instead of impoverishe d
Post-Pleistocene Holocene = " . tal ed ,,_ osition bro'ughtabout greater ecologi-
. the presen t enV1I onmen condit ions ·•,th ~ envrronme~t,_each ~hange in the post-glacial forest COllJp
. t cene or the early early Holocene atmos phere
. 'lnist\ cal p~oduc~vity. This ~~ becaus e, as per scienti fic estima tion, the
hw1te r-gath ere rs
The ~os~-Pleis ouch wanller, very much )Ike ost-Ple is tocene Enrich ment in the carbon dioxid e level
in Iate-Paiaeoaslit~,ollle\ was ncher m carbon dioXIde than the preced ing Ice Age.
Meso~tllic ;,:50 :ubsis tence problems fordth_e ~arge
. d r hunte _,:,,.,ate
ill
numbe rs
·
the
f · "'UC
;,, llf,,;_ increa sed photos ynthes is and seed yield, making post-P
leistoc ene plants more produc tive and
ated unme,_ .
.,..
als such as rem ee , Jed to me1ting o ice and rise "' Q<:p::•~ proved crucial for the early Holocene hunter -gathe rers
. f
e1es o arum .,On the other hand, warmer =" more cold and draugh t resista nt. This
the seacoa sts were subme rged Whereas....,a.'I nmental conditions. Plant foods, such
=.....
_.,,;"ct • g areas near . who were in the proces s of adapti ng to differe nt enviro
became 1 Besid es, frozen rivers and ~ - types of leafy, plants becam e a part of
sea levels. With this, the low- ~1 . ) became habitable. as hazeln uts, water chestn uts, berries, roots, and other
zones ( e.g., Northcentra1 ~ the regula r· diet fol\ the Mesolithic men, and the resulta nt nouris hment proved import ant for
earlier frozen (such as th~ Baltic reg10;tic food. In tempe rate
melted and became explo1ta~le for aq g Southeast and
and North America) an.d tropic~ :;:~~ e;level brought about
.ding terrestrial food
South

resour
west Asia), wetter Eur~
increa sed humid ity
ces, and the earlier ,1}.llli
:di~
1
popula tion growth. Similarly, while the Arctic reinde
ished in the change d climatic condition of Centra l and Weste
the red and roe deer, stag, elk, wild boar and wild
er,,woo

cattle.
lly rhinoc eros and,marnrnoths van-
m Europ e, these were replac ed by
Likewi se, coasts, estuar ies, lakes and
prevailed. A warmer climate an • ct d • "'1 an. ces such as sahnon and other fishes, sea rnarnrnals and
wth of forests , thus, proVI
liI atic changes necess itate new a aptive stratea.,.es i , rivers provid ed aquati c food resour
the dense gro b
. al for~ water birds. Many of these could be stored facilitating
perma nent settlem ent by people in the
tumed into grasslands. The a ove c n was thus possib le in some areas where
. h t r gatherers for better sumv .
e in flora and fauna, Were areas of such divers e resources. Large popula tion h.
shellfis
post-Pleistoet>neh ~a~ c conditions with the resulta nt chang people relied on season al as well as non-se asonal food resour ces such as
to the sub-tr opical , tropic al and le~ s Price ( 1991) to remar k that
. H~~~~ebr, salluc reaions of the world but were limited lithi ' h b d ' -1'1 These possib ilities have led few schola rs like T. Dougla the early
,,. 'M succes sful adapta tion among
Wltn ~ y
ate zones at the end of the Ice Age. Thus the tenn
eso c as een use m a re~ Mesolithic was an age of innovation, interac tion and to the extent of
e Clark has gone
m ~urop e that developed betwi. post-glaoial hunter-gatherers of Northe m Europe . Graham
sense to describe the hwiting-gathering cultures of ~o~e es in the develo pment of culture '.
aro~ d 5,500 years ago.Fa saying that 'Mesolithic was prelud e to fundamental advanc
!2,000 years ago up witil the beginning of agriculture m ~ . r~gion nship betwee n human s, animal s and plants
to descn be the developmenbi Elabor ating further, Clark says that change in relatio
scholars use the term 'Epipalaeolitllic' or 'Final Palaeolithic was accomplished not by Neolithic but
these parts of Europe during 10,000-5,500 years ago and consid
er this as the final phase or, that precip itated the transfo rmatio n of the social system
e of this proces s that men became
ing a huntin g-gath ering eco~ by Mesolithic comm unities. It was precisely an outcom
preceding social evolution when the humans, while still follow Neolithic. Brian Fagan (2010) too has remark ed that this
was a period when the Europe an popu-
completely adapted to their environment. tions, from people with highly mobile life ways to penna -
lation ertjoye d a wide range of adapta
or base camps such as those found in
nently settled 'affluent' people who dwelt in 'village s'
remain ed the basis of the subsistence
Northwest Europe. Although hunting and gathering
intensi fication of hunting-gathering
Mesolithic Europe econo my, the Mesolithic period is particu larly known for
agriculture in some parts of Europ e
activities which create d condit ions for the growth of
e as a p e riod of 'cultural ~
The traditional archaeologists considered Mesolithic in Europ between 8,000 and 7,000 year ago.
went into declin e at the e nd of the Ice~ found from both old and the new
It was argued that the European hwiter- gathere rs The evidence of post-Pleistoc ene adapta tions has been
le nian artis tic traditions II well as a numbe r of common charac-
'.The Pleistocene Arctic animals became extinct, the great Magda worlds. These have suggested diversity of adapta tions as
nce in the forest s, lakes and 9 5,000 years ago. The growth of adapti ve
15 th
hed and e Europ~ans eked out an impoverished existe teristic s spread across the world between 12,000 and
space and time. Talkin~ ~ out this ~ vergen ce ~
~~r;~ .:~:!o n ?hilde (19~) viewed Mesolithic societi
es as impove rished descendanlJd s trategies across the world has differe d in
and c ontrib uting nothing to lllil Kozlow ski (2009) says that the range of soc1etie~ and envrrorunent s m
. gnpped by a state of helples s barbar ism' adaptive s trategy, Stefan
E . d band! d teristic can reliably define the entire
uropean society. It was also sugges ted th E
ated by s cattere ..J the Mes olithic period was so great that no sharnd charac
impoverished hwiter- '"'" h at urope was popul . and ~ ent, Geoff Bailey and Penny Spikins (2008) too
6"'-1,erers w o had lost mu h f h . ~ Mesolithic forma tion. Suppo rting this argun1
. ~ o t e1r capac ity for econo mic Mesoli thic Europe remin? 5 us of a _co~1ple x, multi-
relations and therefore represe ted have argued that the mateli al eviden ce of
. Critics argue that s uc h notion s are .... that these diffe~ ces mdicat e tha_t the
on long standin g view of Meso/t hi a P~1ve society
csoc1etiesasbe'mg donuna . . nt. AW coloured tapestr y. Peter Bogucki (2000) is of the opinion ively due to em11ron-
ted by th e ir e nviron me ""' after the Ice Age were not exclus
and more advanced ecolom caJ e50""' causes of the change s in human society
researc
,,. 1980s hes .and matenaI record s from the c oasu:u M
. ·-' ilities of which hun1ans took advan-
menta l changes alone but these changes offered new possib
. ties that emerged in the ~1
h 1
socie
a nd have presen ~ . .. . .,
drastically revised picture of the post~ :~eJected thi~ traditi onal notion .
tage in different ways. ach w1th its.ow n dis-
tocene envrro nment al condi tion. In these are" J ll[.i' · e nt repres entatives of such post-glacial adaptation-e So ·
dence of complex societies living · The two promm Europe on the one hand and uthwe st Asia
led c ritics to argue that c~eirl • t t g·es- were Centra l and North d r N

~~=rful
•
Mesolithic communities were soc~e rrnane nt 'villages' have tmct adaptive s ra· eg Iglacial tinies the Scandi navian ice sheets had covere most· o -...:th onhem
•a1 · Bal ·
:ra~ at this was a period of radical th~ stagna nt. The n e w resear ch daUI adJ!P D
on the other. · unn • in the post-gl ac1 tuues, · tic region t,u eno
ru°;~r al~t: also the period of colonisau~e and Innovations with resp
u fefus. The technological, social andn of extens ive territo ries
'
e c t to hun1an iJI ~
includ ing thr,,;i,ii'
·0 d 13(;11'
Europe. But wit
h the 1.e treat of these ice sheets

the growth o turc agn· l econ · deve lopme nts of this pert
cu turaJ and urban . . . omic
societies.
 Evolution of Humans -
AnCient and MedievatWorld
e accessible for the hum
ans ~hd fo
tline becam inavia and Balti•c S ea basin' "~th ~
""' ~ t) · said to have been
d IS
s (estim ated to be 164 feet by 84 ,ee an
rth European coasAtlantic . Scand •• ' ·•1 tlw than the Maglemosian settle ment · ring and summ er seas ons.
f bone
'ded enough oppo rturu ties for fishin 'q
) and the No em particular, .
cong regat ion d unng sp
heav iest
frozen
: : :: r ~ e co~ es, Jakes
Euro In
an~;~~:;:as argued that the post- glaci al cond~tih~,
distribution of resou rces over both sea.so
on,
occu pied all year roun d with
Findings such as small stone microlithic
antle r and wood along with repor ted findi
arrow barb s as well as artef acts and weap
.ngs of bone s o f 66 spec ·
ies of anim als indic
ons O .ghJ '
ate a hi Y
. d gathering. However, Marek Zve
6), had ~o-f ?ld impl icati o~ for the hns ~ succe ssful adap tation by huma ns.
. . . ener al
g . in
::em Europe was marked ~Y an ;:,:~ ~ (198 Iva} risks lll .~~ zenit h of hunte r-gat herer life ~n Euro pe m
Such a situation, according to t ...., fluctuations mcre ased SllJ'V . The Ertebolle plwse is cons idere d as the e are main ly conc entra ted
al and long- e.... The sites of this phas
space. supply from the fluct uatin g resources and Sout hern Scandinavia in parti cular.
~ Genn an~
gatherer societies. First, season . re ar food ed to conte mpor ary cultu res in Nort hern
sense that people had.to _find their ~ conce ntrate d food resou rces coul d generate a Sout hern Scandinavia but are close ly relat
settle ment , name d after a kitch en midd en_ (hea ps 0
area. Within Nort h Euro pe, most rema r~ and North ern Netherland. The Erteb olle coas tal
P:~:~;:r::
second. effective ~-plo1tanon_of seaso ·t/of the nd (Sou thern S~andinav ia), was prim arily
th Swed · oyste r shells) in Ertebolle in Nort hern Jutla
surplus and raise ~ of Northwest Europe, parti cular ly Sout hem year round . The carbo n isoto pe analyslS of the huma n b~ne s ~oun
d from
as, Nort hern Germ any and No~ and was occu pied all le. Terre strial arumals were
changes took place m f So them Scandinavia, such . here indic ated a pron ounc ed maritime lifew
ay of the Erteb olle peop
partsE o anu Meso lithic has been divid ed into three phases-Mag{P.11,& ..."" resou rces in the form of ~h, shellfish,
whal es and
Denmark and othrther
Poland Toe No em urope BP). • •
Here , the abbre vi•~- used as supp leme nts to the huge mari ne fox cons titute d the land mam mals
""Map) andErtebolle (6600 -5200 hs, wild cat and
seals. Red and roe deer, wild boar, auroc
• .....,.
(9500-77 · 00 BP,) nonge
v m.ose ( 77N\U1HJ< NV • •
settle ment s ~erh aps for
this abbre VIation to describe""' yield ed smal l and seaso nal
. , _, to 'Before Prese ' nt' and schola rs have been usmg
' B t if we a dd up years "'" ~ hunte d by them. Excavations here have also found , big or smal l,
BP .,,.. ers nt ye~. u al and inlan d sites have been
ods before 1950, this year being recko ned as the 'Prese
years . deep wate r fishing. In Denmark, both coast Erteb olle ~ech nolog y was far
that a gap of 2000 er respectively. The
10,000 depending upon the seaso n summ er or wint
IS,
present, then 12,000 BP would effectively mean
BCE,
large vane ty of antle r, bone
d after a serie s of settle ment s found Iler more elabo rate than the earli er Mesolithic
cultu res of Euro pe. A
The cultural sites of Maglemose phn.se were name prom inen t
discovered first by ~e archaeologist Gear, were used for speci alise d purp oses. Besid es Jutla nd, the othe r
Maglernose in Zealand, Denmark. These were and wood en tools
Denm ark) and Stak eholm
ments were found m othe r parts of Derunait Ertebolle sites have been iliscovered at
Vedbaeck (in Zealand,
Sauraw in around 1900 and then several such settle l rites. Tow ards the
based on seaso nal explo itatio n of aqua n abou t the Meso lithic buria
and Britain. Subsistence during this phase was (Sweden) which give us impo rtant infor matio olle forag ers
hunting and gathe ring. Significant asped,i of exch ange (trad e) betw een the Erteb
resources near rivers and lakes along with terrestrial end of this phas e, there are also evidences wide r socia l inter actio ns
in Ulkestrup site in Jutla nd, Easte rn Denma
rt and potte ries sugg estin g
of the culture of this phase have been found al!! and the fanne rs in the form of ornam ents s' theor y.
near a freshw 'cultu ral hiatu
Here people lived in large huts having bark and
wood floors with hear ths negating some of the notio ns relate d to the
lake. Findings like canoes and wooden paddl
e alongside bone and elk antle r barbed poim
such as pelican,
of fishing in their diet. They also trapp ed birds'
strongly suggests importance of
usmg nets and snares made plant fib D . . , they Tool Technology and the Subsistence Economy
hunted elk red d wild re. unng wmters, when fish beca me scarce varia tions
d for haze lnuts and othe r edible planl designed to cope with local envir onme ntal
foods. The 'star ceer,s1·te, Iocated m modem y; kshir . N
ox and wild pig and forage The Mesolithic tool kits of Euro pe were latio n grow th who se
arr e lil orthe aster n England, is considered to meet challenges of local popu
as the most famous Mesolithi 't f th or in the post-Pleistocene period as well as resou rces. Varie ty of avail able
of all available food
and then extensively exca v~ ~~~~ e Magle
mose P~ase. The site was discovered in !!HI suste nanc e required effici ent eiq>loitation , led the Meso lithic men to
and terre strial
and his team. Situa ted near tl1e lake, the Sift resou rces in Northern Euro pe, including
both aqua tic
has been roughly dated between 9500 arne91Clark re of the Mesolithic tool techn ology was redu ction
Extensive resea rch on this site since 1941 fashion diverse tool kits. An impo rtant featu d.
hasrei•eaJedthatitwasatemporary ·teand ~BP. whet her made from stone , bone , antle r or woo
March and July. They lived by huntilll in the size of tools or microlithisation of tools
::;! tishin
g. Evidences also suggest :at:cup td during
er umt reeds to have a clear view of the Jake
SJil Microliths were geometrically shap ed barbs
that could be used in diffe rent types of weap ons
fos~red new Plant &rowth to attrac them
The sites ~ocia ted with K, t anuna 1s who fed on such as harpo ons. Trap eze-
<mgemose Phase of Me lithi . the peop le of Euro pe was bow and arrow .
Baltic seacoasts ba
This has so c Euro pe are main ly located· oneot A significant tool used by the Mesolithic adva ntage s of using this com-
raphu n0 ra and 'fauna Yli and
Th
near lagoon s
· P e was k shap ed microliths were used as arrow barbs
. Ther e were sever al
,,
fore mar ed by signi fican t changes_lII gwifli that could pene trate the prey deep and also inflic t
many large and sma11 w e sea_ level rose and the bination weapon. These weapons had a point
ht sts were ~urned into long coas~e ol quick ly. Besid es, these were also
the forest to exploit.atio:ed JSl~ds. This broug to bleed to death
h about a shift from hunti ng for anunaJs a wide woun d that would cause the prey e weap -
dolphins, seals and Whal f aquatic resou rces su
rate and porta ble, and sever al arrow s could be shot in quick succ essio n. Thes
more accu
resources were supplem ~• and water birds
Ii~ ~ fish and othe r such wate r mammals. Id d spea r as htmte rs could carry more arrow s with
seagull. MariJlt ons were also more versatile than the barbe coul d also
and wild boars. Thus it en eda by hunting of such e_ uck, swan, crane and ho foJ ces of succe ssful htmti ng. Bow and arrow
' was comb. anuna 1s them in a small quiver, enhancing the chan socia l CO!l S('quences as
logi al as red and roe deer• elk' auroc1"'' of this weap on also had
. c advan cemen t over th M lfled forest and
coastal _.hnO- be used for killing birds and for fishing. Use of hw,t ers.
JS I t d at Segebro outsid eM ag1emosian Phase Culture that demo nstra ted·teu•· animals witho ut the aid of a large grou p
oca e
e almo 0 h Southwest · neof th better know n sites of thiS P~
O
er now individual hunters could also kill large
econ omy of Meso lithic peop le. parti cular ly th~
nt e e
1arg Importance of fishing in the subsi stenc e
ern Swedish coas t. This was much
- Ancient and Medieval World
11 findingS as
fish hoo ks, nets and b I Evolution ot Hurnllllj -. ;J
vation in toolmaJcing dask~ t b...
inhabitfod Baltic Sea regions,this is suggested by s~ciportant inno ~ b akin ul'ili ,~
=-o
tipped by stone barbs from
period, as highlighted by Grahame
felling and utilising timber, such as
ened by striking buri n-lik e blow s.
area

The
. Ano ther in
'1977) was equipment ior re·
Clark t d adzes. These were mad
axes ~ btained by usin g
woo ohafits hut floors and so
thes e
.
e from
tool
on.
s
g

wer
the
thic
e
k
grou
fla](
Used t
nd

es, s,
¾d
g\
r~
or lltal,;:
"""'t
indi c~v e_ of incr ease d pop
actiVIties m these areas. In the Balt
and Zvelebil (1986) have identifie
coas tal area s, the orga nisa
ulat

tion
ion

of
density necessitating intensificati
ic region (Sweden, Latvia and Finl
d two broad types of settlements
settlement consisted of the main
on of hunting and gathering

'villa
and), Dennell, Domanslca
-coastal and inland, In
ge' and 'base camps' for
other hand, people relied
arrows spea r s ,
was mcr eas e in the use of ho s. In the inland settlements, on the
dJ b
es, ows , lithic tool indu stry exploitation of seasonal resource
dugout boats, han
M'

;.,,.,; r. t aspect of the esoof stone tools. Kent Flanne.ry (1969) is of the 0 . Ile, heavily on terrestrial resources. population has been consid-
Ano ther s'&., ,_.ca n iminution
atile tool s were f: ~llli~ A large and sedentary settleme
nt with a dense concentration of
nd ation in tool kits as now more vers reb y hum oretically, a complex society
antler and wooden tools a ~alis ashioni.'11 a complex social organisation. The
art of the pro cess whe
ans ered as a factor for the growth of sede ntary or semi-sedentary
tllat this was retle cuve of spec ! . . cope d e hunter-gatllerer group leads a
to suit local needs The newchan local tools were p t W1certa.inties of locaJ ci:unwllf.l is identified as one in which a larg 'villa ges') . Peop le build durable houses
but also with the con stan ~ h can be t.enned as
. · Jim ,;c ges al ~ d
-tenn c au•tatt'on u· some areas of season 100 reso urc es suc h as Salrnon r..t
~ lives in sizeable settlements (whic kind of settlement store and
only witll long period of time. Inhabitants of this
. . 101 , 1 • . d "-'II which can be used over a longer h soci eties also display division of
This led to mt.ens1ve expatlle red in a short span of time and stor ed for late r use. With 0115 lability of food supply. Suc
d k · - e\'e). preserve food thus altering tlle avai is indicated through wealth,
to be g . . d
or nuts that had gy to store food. Fishes were sun-drie an . ep~ m ron t o~ fire
1 on WoO<k>n and some fonn ofsocial hierarchy
labour, both sexual and functional, lar exchange of exotic
oped the technolo ( which later became res of a complex society inclu regu de
ts and cereals were kep t m bas kets diet and burial customs. Other featu ritua ls and ceremonies.
racks while nuts and oilier edible plan objects and raw materials with neig
hbouring groups and elab orat e
ral societies.
ed agri cultu
prototypes for Neolithic potteries). different weap0 is generally associated with settl
Mesolithi~ hun ter- ~th e~r s us~~ Such type of social complexity sign s of com plex ity exis ted in pre-
Thus, it can be said tllat the European es have suggested that
means and technique to obtain food
intensification of hunting and gath
resources m different clim
ering activities with specialised
atic con diti ons . In some II!,
tool s hav e been 110 :=, However, a few recent research
agricultural societies too. With ·refe
tic reso urce s,
rence to Mesolithic Europe, it has
such as, freshwater and mar ine fishe
been
s, shel
argu ed
lfish
that
and
plentiful
sea mam-
s, sea mammals and supp ly of such aqua incentiv e to ado pt sede n-
s such as salmon fish, nuts, seed Scandinavia), provided people the
particularly in relation to certain food maj or consequences fiSIJ mals in some areas (particularly in is Binf ord, has term ed the
one area all year round which had and ocean shores. Scholar, Lew
on, allowing few groups to settle in inte nsive hunting: tary life ways along rivers, lakes s (particularly shellfish)
centuries. A sedentary sett lem ent and
n' as the great supply of marine resource
food production in the subsequent ship. An interesting find oceans as the 'Garden of Ede ulation densities. Citing
a change in human-animal relation sedentary and to sustain larger pop
certain animals also brought about fash ion as humans will! allowed such societies to become n, Mar ek Zvel ebil (1986) argues that
The dogs were buried in the sim ilar in tht> Baltic coast regio
at Stakeholm is of eight dog burials. h clos er relationship evidence from large settlements usually associated with
e. This would also indicate a muc ntism and social complexity not
1dent1cal grave goods and red ochr mad e an observation these indicate high degree of sede the inla nd settlement pattern was
4) has he also points out that
between humans and arumals. In this
context, Bohuslav Klim a (199
hunting-gatl1eri.ng communities. But the opinion that although
hun ter- prey, which II'&! ility. Penny Spikins (2008) too is of
much closer than the usual one of marked by greater residential mob social complexity and
that human-:animal relationship was dry that developed Baltic coasts show many sign s of
tion of animals and animal hus ban Mesolithic sites of Scandinavia and tion, intensification of
~e first mdicatJon towards _domestica gh still based on ons, yet the aspe cts of soci al strat ifica
ng. In this sense, the Mesolithic eco
nom y thou many instances of social distincti othe r Mes olithic sites. On the
~ubs~uently alongside farnu ' d sedentism is not clear from
b een Pala eoli thic and Neolitltic. hw1ting and gat.he1ing and increase tic reso urces were used
, can e termed as transitional betw
l11mtmg and gath ermg · to belie ve that aqua
ble (1986) tend
other hand , archaeologist, Clive Gam urce s (gam es and pl~ l
last resort when tlle terrestrial reso
as adaptive strategy only as the pting a sligh tly diffe rent appr oach: DaVJd
Organisation ion pressure. Ado
foods) failed to sustain the populat
Settlement Pattern, Burials and Social t to exploitation of aquatic resource
s occu rred dunng the
N hE ted near
Ycsncr (1987) argues tliat t11e sltif
ge, when population pres sure led tofoo? shol' Ulge . E,;e~
As mention ed earlier •most of tlle Ort uropean Mesolifltic settlements we're loca period of rapid envirorunental chan mvo lVllt g hard wor k,_11
bays or near lakes, 'nver ltl'ces required ~pecialis~d hun_~ g
s or reservoi rs So U 'd round the year though <•xploitation of aquatic reso deba te on soci al
r · me set eme~ts wer e occ upiC ing. Thus, despite d1ffe~g oplil o
l_ ru:, this
depending upon the availability of food liful reso urces, boU1 as prod ucU ve as terre stria l hunt role to man ne
esources. ~ locations whe re plen significant
was
terrestrial and aquatic were availabl olill1ic Europe does subscnbe a
th of Kon gem osc phase, small complex ity with respect to Mes Ho(o cene age hw1ter-g~th~rers.
e, ~luch as ose m Segebro site . '"-~ ity amo ng tlie early
the complex soc1eues ?f
com plex
animals, birds and fishes could be eas1 y consumed . h th e help of adv anc ed tools. T/US ~., resources in bringing about social inco nchr sive ) m
b .
could be undertake n Y smgle . di ·ct
Wlt •••• ,.,, The rvidenee for social different
iation (though
of hunting
. . VI uals and large gro ups
were wmect:l»"',. the from U1eir burials. Most of thesreso e bunals have been found_Ill
. a num b f m post-Pleistocene Europe comes urces and cover the ennre
Mesolithic Euro.pe had er o such sma ll ttlements, more widely spre ad than •·vi·t1 niarked conc entr atio n of aqua tic
. . se · · .zml<'S 1 6) are
Pal ith1c penod. Bohuslav Klim (I 994 15 . ')' (198 • •
. nne . , Pt-te r Rowley-Con\\
aeol th s well
e opinion that sinc e food resource ttie- co·J.S tal or nve rl Ar l ologIS·ts such as Marek Zvelebil and liuon
) of ' ohtJ · pcn·o . c iae
• uc suggests favournble ecol og1c al ronc
more diverse so the social groups waere smaller Ho large se Mes 11 1· •tri·bution of the burial sites · ·a1 markers.
ts • t d. &
~ever, we also haw • evid enc
men Particularly from the sites loca 10 andinavia where 'affluen t' peo ple lived in lat#
e of . • us
of l11e op1ruon tliat ie , . 1also tliat the buri al grounds .
may have actP< I as lem ton
, . f 1. :I .,utrl reso ,
urres
.
coastal 'villages' or 'base camps'·
Large ~
for the .hWll· er-gatherer s am!ism teJTitoriality and drums to ownerslup o ,Ult
e~~ on was possible in thes e area s because es, I
. .catmg mcrease< sec en · • 1
· not only on regularly avai
l relie lable mcli
peop e d sea sonal food resoUfC
stored d resources but also on ~-
such as shellfJSh, which could be an •t e. . of nt-ed. Such big se1t1ernen
nm tunes
~ -
l..J. .- An<.ieot and Medieval world
n eteiy) and single. Most of the bu.....,a) Si
Evolution of Humans -
- sh pe of a cc 1
traces of tect ~llei
U . Burials were both group (in thew ~ Ba)tic region. In many ~ves,
have been symbolically
boats and hunting weapon s. Images of animals , such as elk and bear,
it>rem. n located in North, East and es in few of the graves believe
d to be that of •11'! bring luck in the hant. SimUarly,
associat ed with an attempt to not only restore them but also to
: : : : n found sprinkled over the de~ :C~egrave goods. Female s were buried With
ts. Few chi] ect.
:'dei choice of particul ar animal tooth for making tooth pendant
animal
.s,
bones
keeping
after
antlers
consum
with the dead,
ption have all
red deer antler were made a P and .. n;mal teeth and tooth pendan
a....... . . ·" els l rl-.. burial of dogs as memori als and ritual treatme nt of
peopIe, ad from shell
ve goods. Graves with smwar go~ 1ave been ro"'\11 been associa ted with attempt s at resurrec tion of animals and regener ation of resourc es.
laces and belts of beads m e_ . ic figures
form of anthrop omorph
gta\'t'S have also been found with nchc:t.ainin8 85 graves) at Stakeho lrn situated
at the SO~ Evidenc e of the existenc e of shaman ism has been found in the
With . UtJi. were not random but were located in speciall y
in ,~..,er cemeteries (two cemeten es al d old men have been fom1d buried
. nch... as well as choice of place of rock carvings that
0 ger fern es an denotin g holy places where shaman istic rituals may have taken
s~c1al conipJe>j ':" selected natural landsca pe
em tip of Sweden. Ht>re youn ve oods represent differen t ~pects of
-
als (such as the one
reflect s/; lti place on a regular basis. Excepti onally reach burials of certain individu
grave goods. These ~enng ~rdii7 to Marek zvelebil (1986), these bunals e of existenc e of shaman ism. Whatev er
c societies. Acdc gbership age sex persona l wealth along with specioi;:~ fowid in Stakeho lm) have also been cited as an exampl
these Mesolithi , • • . ~ the Mesolith ic Europea ns that we have suggest s a broad
. din •· such as ban mem
with effigy figures (suggestt,. little evidenc e of the religious belief of
SOClal iens1~nstual • 'alis•ts or shamans individuals interred · th · links 'th ...~ continu ity with the belief system of the Palaeolithic hunter-g atherers
in terms of linkage s
ranks such as n speci '
clan identity) and males buried with bone points (sugge s~ ~lt w1 a hunting &roup}
between natural, human and animal world.
H laborates that both men and women (on account of bemg child bearers
) could acquire high defined in other parts
The features of Norther n Europea n Mesolithic cultures are not so well
. . althougli men tended to acquire higher rank more often than
. women . Based on reason cited for this is that in compar ison to Norther n Europe, climatic
-ee
status pa,1oons,
. . of Europe. A possible
m collectiv e burials, e there were fewer opportu ni-
sex-specific variation in the grave goods and age and sex ass~~ia tions changes were less extreme in other parts of Europe and therefor
patriline al and dual-de scent SOciaJ suppose d to have ended with the beginni ng of
Zvelebil l 1986) has concluded that these societies had both ties for coastal adaptati on. The Mesolithic is
phers generall y tend to agree that these l!\i- around 6000 from where it spread to Central Europe ( 4500 BCE)
sttucture. However, archaeologists and ethnogra fanning in Southea st Europe BCE
agricult ural technol ogy in
dences of social differentiation are only limited to sedentar y coastal societie s where the degree and then to Northw est Europe by about 3500 BCE. The late arrival of
interior regions, grollill of availabi lity of sufficie nt and diverse food
of economic complexity was higher than in the inland areas. In the Northw est Europe has also been explaine d in terms
a differen tiated society. necessit y of changin g the existing adaptive strategy of hunting and
were highly mobile that promoted egalitarian rather than resourc es, obviating the
hunting and gatherin g, it defi-
gathering. Although econom y in Mesolithic Europe remaine d
c. This is exempli fied by
nitely represen ts a transitional phase between Palaeolithic and Neolithi
Religious Beliefs and Art Forms and gatherin g efforts, tendenc y towards sedentis m, beginning of
intensification of hunting
tllis period.
tion primarily social complex ity and wider social interact ions noticed during
Analysing the belief system of people of Mesolithic Europe is a difficult proposi
Howeve r, archaeo logists, on the ba'.sis of fe,
due to lack of artefacts with symbolic content.
Europe (includin g mostly Eastern and Northea stern Baltic
artefacts fo~d from crrcum-B altic
an analogy of the belie( Developments in Southwest Asia
region co\·enng Finland, Latvia and parts of Germany) and drawing
d s·b • in hunting and gathering,
system
th
of modem-<
hist .
lay North
..
Euro
pean an I enan hunter-gatherer commu nities with those<i During early Holocene period, while Europe was still engaged
e pre one commuruties have come to som~ d eIiIJIJtive .. experim enting with wild cere-
d. . conclus ion about the material cul- although in an intensified manner, West Asia had already started
cure of :\fesofithic E

t~':i
The post-Ple istocene climatic changes in West Asia
symbo~c ~eanrng. The basis of this analogy is (a) the histori· als leading to early growth of agriculture.
cal continuity of No:~: ced than Norther n Europe. West Asia (also known as the Near East)
cultures operating in similar 1 ~~ Sibenan h~ter-g atherer culture and
(b) both material were even more pronoun
During these harsh conditio ns, people
) ha co ogicd and economi c conditio ns. Based on this Marek Zvelebil was extremely cold and dry during 20,000-15,000nP.
llild Peter Jordan (20J 6 ve pornte out that the NOrth E ' · ed and wild wheat and barley seeds. Between 15,000BP
• Three-Tier world-the uppe uropean Ilunter-gatherPrs L,ehev survived on intensive htmting of gazelles
in a Id tempera ture in this region wanned up conside rably, leading to increase in rainfall
th and the underworld and 11,000 UP,
(underground) referring to air 1 rdword (sky), e middle world (earth) . ,. and moist weather conditions. These environmental changes also
brought about changes in
interre1ated through animal ( ' lkan b an water respe ct'iveJY- and all three we rr pen:e1vcd W"" barley along with oaks, almonds and pistachi o trees now
and water bi els) The vegetation. Wild emmer wheat and
rock · e ' ear r and human (shama n) mrdiums. Syria as well as the steppe and
cazvmg sites, carved objects and burial . colonised coastal and highlcmd areas of present day Israel and
~ock Carvings display the ritual distincti b ntuals have been relatr d t.o I.his lwlief systt>m. The a. These denser cereal strands were more resistant to short-
on etween land and water, and watc>r hirds have been dcsP1'ls of Negev mid Sinai peninsul
,ound to be as.,oc • d with the dead. At v lb . climatic chm1ges and could be harveste d over a longer period in a year. Thus, in !lie post-
sw , . rate t.enn
'beyanosdwu,tlg.~ and burial ground in the Lslanec l achk site, a child's grave h,L'l h!'rll found with a Plristoccncpc•riod, the h1111ter-gaUierers ofWestAsiadeveloped a more complex
hunting-gathering
c s as bct•n a.~soc1a
• · . · trd with . burial . or tI1c (lead 10,5001w , much earlier than oilier parts of
n 1c Water'· socielic s eventua lly turning into a farming society by
Th ,
e rock art, in the fomi O
r . ve tlw world.
been 8.'l.'!Oclated with ~vrraJ images, of the Mes · · . U1e Natufian culnu-e,
•foitlcR aJnng With lhe worship of natural world as · ohrt_ n c Europ1•a i1 h1u111•r-g a1.hercrs ha c The• most promine nt post-Pleistocene culture of SoutJiwest Asia was
these 1magrs rrpn•st>11f a111hropon1orphl 2,800ul' mid 10,300 DI', flourished
1mages or animals such rnuned al'l.l'r a valll'Y in lsral'I. Thb culture, dat.ecf between I
a~ !lea rnanunals, bears, watc•r hirds ,md fish and
...
I~
I
· I \Vorlcl
Ancient and Med1eva . .
f . gcs of Nile River, covenng U1e Pre §_1___.__
Evolution of Humans ...
f tal Southern 1\irkeY to tl'.c .~;haeological works, the Natufian cul:ent ¾
over ~mch o cloasS ·a and Jordan. In t,hcearliPrat dilled to snit t11e post-glacial enVj lire\\'~
Palestme/Israe , yn ., t,hat was mo hi h to1lll\ Such a sedentary life style and plentiful food resources in some regions covered by lhe
. d hwiter-gatherer ctuture Neolithic culture w c created Pree . e11. Natufian culttrre, naturally presupposes a high population density and more social complexity.
reco~t ~ been placed in the category of prc-TI1e Natufian culture succeeded theo~dtti°'i A large number of cemeteries found across the Natufian sites provide a glimpse of social dif-
~ut ~;~ling of agriculture in the Near East.Momit Carmel (Israel) that developed in~~~ ferentiation/ranking. In few burials, artefacts such as seashell or household goods s uch as stone
;~ture named after the site of Kebara c3a0v0e0on But the Natufians developed a more l<l!llii bowls and, in few graves, decorated body with personal ornaments such as head decorations,
' I d . g 15 000--1 HP, B 'd . CornpJ
necklaces, bracelets, earrings and pendants made of marine shells, bone terth and beads have
(Syria/Palestine/lsme ) unn . • ' than the Kebarans. es1 es mtensive hu . et
. ting gat.hermg strategy ild l 'b ntlllg It been found. The absence of such burial goods on other graves has been considered by few
and intensive hun - . and otlier animals such as w goa , 1 ex, wild cattl
gazelles (pos.sibly domesticated too) 1 ·t d wild wheat (emmer) and barley along WitJ e, r~ scholars as signs of social hierarchy, although it has been contested by others. Signs of social
1
811d red deer, they also intensively ehig>--P~y :roducLlve and nutritive food resources Whic~aco111, differentiation have also been deduced from size of the houses as also from few of them having
almond and pistacluo These were f tll. ult I COUIJ kiln for preparing lime plaster.
also be stored Archa~ologists have identified two phases o JS c . ur~ar Y, dated between The abundance of marine shells and other stones found from the graves and several Natufian
l~.800-10,500 ~P and later, dated between 10,500-I0,30~ BP. The_ m3Jor difference.b~tween these sites indicates a higher level of social interaction within and between groups, including those
two phases has been fmmd to be in their settlement pattern witll more or less snnilar adaptive situated at a fairly long distance which was an essential survival mechanism for early sedentary
strategies. · · al · communities of Southwest Asia. Evidence of long-distance exchange is provided by the findings
The tool kits of the Natufians were designed to explmt an11n· , aquatic as we_ll as plant fOOd (most of them at Ain Mallaha) of marine shells brought from the shores of Mediterranean Sea,
resources. They fashioned microliths, bunns, bores, scrapers and blades to fit mto handle, as tusk shell from the Atlantic area, greenstone beads from Syria and obsidian from Anatolia.
well as picks and arrowheads. Flintstone, antJe_r and b~nes_ were used as the main raw mateJial The above analysis of Mesolithic Northern Europe and the pre-Neolithic Southwest Asia over
LO manufacture tools. A significant Natufian Jl\llovation ~ ~e field of tool technology was a similar timeframe of post-Pleistocene period suggests that while Mesolithic Emope advanced
manufacture of flint sickle blades set in handles of bones with its edges resembling that of &oat to the stage of an intensive hunting and gathering economy, displaying its transitional character,
teeth. These were quite suitable for cutting wild cereal grasses. A. M. T. Moore ( 1985) points 0111 the Near Eastern occupants were already preparing the background towards food production
that use of sickles_ ifl:'lead of beate:-' ~nd bas_kets has the ~dvantage of maxin1ising the yield by modifying their hunting and gathering strategy. Titis, besides other factors, also explains why
harvested from a limited area m _a linuted penod. Commenting on the subsistence strategy ol agriculture developed in Southwest Asia at least two millennia before Europe.
the Natufians, Israeli archaeologist, Ofer Bar-Yosef (1994) says that evidence from the animal
bone collection po'.nt tow~rds hwiting, fishing and gatliering as the basis of their economy. But
the strontlum--ealc1wn ratio found from the human bone analysis suggests that Natufians were
more of cereal consumers than meat eaters. The intensive gathering of wild cereals is also evi-
Summary
denced by a particular sheen ('sickle gloss') on the sickle blades caused by the silica present in
the cereal grass stalks. Fi.ndin . .
"""din I b gs of 0ther plant-processmg tools such as stone utenstls quems I. Humans, like otl1er organisms of tl1e earth, have evolved over a period of time.
,,. ~· gs a s, pestles and mortars furthe • t t ds . ' ' Biological and cultllfal attributes of humans have enabled them to compete better
tence strategy. Bone tools were d r porn owar importance of cereals in their subsis-
used in spears or arrows whit ;:5e ~o work on hide and for making baskets. Bone barbs were witl1 other spr cies.
The Natufian settle ts e oo and gorgets were used for fishing. 2. Biological and cu.ltlll'al evolution of humans was an interrelated process. Biological
men were located main! th hil evolution involved crucial physical changes (due to the process of mutation) in
Mediterranean which was the t al h . Ynear e ly woodland region close to the
large settleme~ts were establi hnadur th abitat of wild cereals and nut-bearing trees. However, humans like bipedalism and inrrease in tl1e brain size besides other physiological
d th hi s e at e bowiclary b t chm1ges. Cultural evolution of humans was mainly related to their toolmaking abili-
an e II zone in order not on! t . e :ween coastal plai11s or gra~sland valleys
the forest game but also to get y O exploit spring cereal crops, nut harvest during winter and ti('S, acquisition of language mid social intrractions tl1at was crncial for stuvival in
Ain Mallah (N easy access to toolmaki h <'hm1ging climatic couditions.
a orthem Israel) provide e 'd . ng stones. The Natulimt sites, sue ~ 3. Environment too played a crucial role in the evolution of humans as increase or
houses on stone fow1dation have been~ endce ~or a fairly permanent srtt lement. Herr, circ1~ar
' r <lPneasc' in the temperature brought about corresponding chm1ges in flora and fauna
them having st
Shuqba (87 andorage
I
c 1ambers The lar
45 b ·a1 ·
. ,oun with paved fl
ge cemeteries fow1d 111
oors, use of limP mortars and fe11
· 1 , d
° nrccssitating chm1ges in the adaptive strategy. Early hominids emerged in the
and 50 b . u.n s respectively) and t t 1e caves of MugharPt-it1-Wa11 an Plior P11<' epoch of t11e Cenozoic era mid tl1e process of hw11an evolution speeded up
where re:! respectively), elated in diffe:e~ien en: ampment of Eynam and NahaJ Oren (82 during this period, also known as the Great k e Age.
sustain cl retums were made in a Year af years,_suggests that tJwsc were base camps 4. Htm1rui~ hclong to the order of primates that en\C'rged about 6!) mya in the fon11 of
e attaclmient to . ter a bnef · t . li ate
Particular location II\ erval. These hurials ·dso inc c Prosirnii or primitive primates. Anthropoids (monkeys, apes and hum:uis) or
' s, a strong hint t . '
owards sedentary settlr ment. advanr c•d primates separated from Prosimii about -10 mya with tlw r rncrg,,ncr of Old
(Co11ti 1111ctl)