Star Carr
Encyclopedia
Star Carr is a Mesolithic
archaeological site in North Yorkshire
, England
. It is around five miles south of Scarborough.
It is generally regarded as the most important and informative Mesolithic site in Great Britain
. It is as important to the Mesolithic period as Stonehenge
is to the Neolithic
period or Scandinavian York is to understanding Viking
-age Britain.
The site was occupied during the early Mesolithic archaeological period, contemporary with the preboreal and boreal
climatic periods. Though the ice age
had ended and temperatures were close to modern averages, sea levels had not yet risen sufficiently to separate Britain from continental Europe
. Highlights among the finds include; Britain’s oldest structure, 21 red deer
stag skull-caps that may have been head-dresses and nearly 200 projectile, or harpoon, points made of red deer antler
. These organic materials are preserved due to burial in waterlogged peat
. Normally all that remains on Mesolithic sites are stone tool
s.
Excavation of the site began in 1948, a year after artefacts were first noticed by an amateur archaeologist. The site is most famous for some of the extremely rare artefacts
discovered during the original excavations but its importance has been reinforced by new understandings of the nature and extent of the Mesolithic archaeology in the area and reinterpretations of the original material.
. During the Mesolithic the site was near the outflow at the western end of a paleolake, known as Lake Flixton. At the end of the last ice age a combination of glacial and post-glacial geomorphology
caused the area drained to the west (away from the shortest-distance to the sea at Filey
). The basin filled by Lake Flixton was probably created by glacial 'scarring'.
The site is preserved due to Lake Flixton in-filling with peat during the course of the Mesolithic. Waterlogged peat prevents organic finds from oxidising and has led to some of the best preservation conditions possible (such conditions have preserved the famous bog bodies found in other parts of northern Europe).
As a result of such good conditions archaeologists were able to recover bone, antler and wood in addition to the flints that are normally all that is left on sites from this period.
During the period of Mesolithic occupation the area surrounding the lake would have been a mixed forest of birch
, aspen
and willow
. The lake edge and shallows would have been full of reeds, water lily
and other aquatic plants and lake levels would have changed dynamically in response to rainfall or snow-melt.
These and many other plants would have formed the base of a complex food web
. The mammals that we have evidence for include herbivores such as beaver
, red deer, roe deer
, elk
(known as moose in North America), aurochs
, wild boar, hare
and carnivores such as wolf, lynx
, bear
, fox
, pine marten
, badger
and hedgehog
.
, shale
, haematite, iron pyrites and tightly-rolled pieces of birch-bark and pieces of birch-resin pitch or tar and worked wood.
The flint found at Star Carr came from nearby beaches, which at time of occupation would have been about 10 to 20 km (6.2 to 12.4 ) distant, and also from the Yorkshire Wolds
immediately to the south of the site.
The two most outstanding categories of finds are the 'barbed points' and 'antler frontlets'. The barbed points are made of the antler of red deer stags. They are between 8 centimetres (3.1 in) and 38 centimetres (15 in) in length and the 195 examples found at Star Carr account for more than 95% of the total number from the British Mesolithic. Many of the barbed points and antler frontlets appear to be deliberately broken. The antler frontlets are made from red deer stag (male) skulls with the antlers still attached. The 21 antler frontlets are sufficiently complete to see how they have been manufactured: two holes were perforated through the skull with a flint tool and the inside of the skull cap was smoothed. The antlers on each frontlet has been carefully trimmed to reduce weight. It seems very likely that these modifications are designed to allow the frontlets to be used as headgear.
It is impossible to know the form or materials from which the walls and/or roof would have been made. They may have used hides
, thatch, turf
or bark
on a conical (teepee-like) or rounded (wigwam
-like) frame. There is no reason to suppose that the same materials and form would have been used for the structure's entire life-span. There was evidence that the floor was covered with a layer of moss, reeds and other soft plant materials 20 centimetres (7.9 in)–30 centimetres (11.8 in) deep.
Radiocarbon dates indicated a use-life of between 200 and 500 years.
The structure has been compared to the Mesolithic structure found at Howick
, Northumberland and British Iron Age
roundhouses
.
A large wooden platform has been discovered nearby on the shore of the former lake – the earliest known example of carpentry in Europe, though its purpose is as yet unknown. Timbers of Aspen and Willow were split along the grain using wedges (probably made of wood and antler) these were then laid in the boggy areas at the lake shore, presumably to provide firm footing.
The extent of the wooden platform is not known but it may be a significantly larger and more complex undertaking than the house-like structure.
until about 8460 BC, with a possible period of abandonment between 8680 BC and 8580 BC.
via the curator of the Scarborough Museum
.
Clark began his investigation with the explicit aim of building a more detailed picture of the Mesolithic environment and the ways in which people used it. The organic preservation enabled the recovery of the plant and animal remains necessary for this. Clark excavated from 1949–1951. Clark's 1954 publication of these excavations is a seminal text in the study of the British Mesolithic and prehistory generally.
Clark believed he had uncovered the entirety of the site and believed Star Carr could be used as a type-site for the British Mesolithic. He drew parallels between the finds at Star Carr and the site of Maglemose in Denmark. It is now recognised that many of Clark’s inferences were incorrect but the excavation remains one of the most important in the study of British prehistory ever undertaken.
, Bronze Age
and Mesolithic material from Seamer
Carr, just to the north of Star Carr. These excavations were conducted in advance of the Seamer Carr landfill site. The discovery of Mesolithic material led to a new series of investigations around Lake Flixton directed by Tim Schadla-Hall (currently University College London
) and Paul Lane (currently University of York
). This team returned to Star Carr in 1985 and 1989.
This project investigated the archaeology and ecology of the wider landscape around Lake Flixton and found several more Mesolithic sites but none with an as many of the unusual artefacts (such as barbed points and antler frontlets) discovered at Star Carr.
). This ongoing project has reinvestigated Clark's excavations and also excavated the dry-land, discovering the structure.
Most significantly, recent geochemical investigations have demonstrated that the preservation conditions have deteriorated. The result of this is that any remaining organic artefacts will be far less informative than those discovered by previous excavation projects. Though the reasons for this remain somewhat unclear, it appears that the acidity of the groundwater has massively increased in the last few years.
There is much debate about the time of year the site was occupied. Mesolithic people hunted a number of animals including red and roe deer, elk, aurochs and wild boar. but there are various seasonal assessments and as the site was occupied over several hundred years it is likely that seasonal practices varied over time.
It has been suggested that the antler frontlets were used as a hunting disguise, or in some form of ritual
practice. Recent work suggests that these, along with other objects made from red deer antler, appear to have been respectfully deposited at the lake edge due to the spiritual significance of red deer to the people who occupied the site.
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
archaeological site in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is around five miles south of Scarborough.
It is generally regarded as the most important and informative Mesolithic site in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. It is as important to the Mesolithic period as Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
is to the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
period or Scandinavian York is to understanding Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
-age Britain.
The site was occupied during the early Mesolithic archaeological period, contemporary with the preboreal and boreal
Boreal (period)
In paleoclimatology of the Holocene, the Boreal was the first of the Blytt-Sernander sequence of north European climatic phases that were originally based on the study of Danish peat bogs, named for Axel Blytt and Rutger Sernander, who first established the sequence. In peat bog sediments, the...
climatic periods. Though the ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
had ended and temperatures were close to modern averages, sea levels had not yet risen sufficiently to separate Britain from continental Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Highlights among the finds include; Britain’s oldest structure, 21 red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
stag skull-caps that may have been head-dresses and nearly 200 projectile, or harpoon, points made of red deer antler
Antler
Antlers are the usually large, branching bony appendages on the heads of most deer species.-Etymology:Antler originally meant the lowest tine, the "brow tine"...
. These organic materials are preserved due to burial in waterlogged peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
. Normally all that remains on Mesolithic sites are stone tool
Stone tool
A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made either partially or entirely out of stone. Although stone tool-dependent societies and cultures still exist today, most stone tools are associated with prehistoric, particularly Stone Age cultures that have become extinct...
s.
Excavation of the site began in 1948, a year after artefacts were first noticed by an amateur archaeologist. The site is most famous for some of the extremely rare artefacts
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
discovered during the original excavations but its importance has been reinforced by new understandings of the nature and extent of the Mesolithic archaeology in the area and reinterpretations of the original material.
Environmental context
Star Carr now lies under farmland at the eastern end of the Vale of PickeringVale of Pickering
The Vale of Pickering is a low-lying flat area of land in North Yorkshire, England. It is drained by the River Derwent. The landscape is rural with scattered villages and small market towns. It has been inhabited continuously from the Mesolithic period...
. During the Mesolithic the site was near the outflow at the western end of a paleolake, known as Lake Flixton. At the end of the last ice age a combination of glacial and post-glacial geomorphology
Geomorphology
Geomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them...
caused the area drained to the west (away from the shortest-distance to the sea at Filey
Filey
Filey is a small town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the borough of Scarborough and is located between Scarborough and Bridlington on the North Sea coast. Although it started out as a fishing village, it has a large beach and is a popular tourist resort...
). The basin filled by Lake Flixton was probably created by glacial 'scarring'.
The site is preserved due to Lake Flixton in-filling with peat during the course of the Mesolithic. Waterlogged peat prevents organic finds from oxidising and has led to some of the best preservation conditions possible (such conditions have preserved the famous bog bodies found in other parts of northern Europe).
As a result of such good conditions archaeologists were able to recover bone, antler and wood in addition to the flints that are normally all that is left on sites from this period.
During the period of Mesolithic occupation the area surrounding the lake would have been a mixed forest of birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
, aspen
Aspen
Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...
and willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
. The lake edge and shallows would have been full of reeds, water lily
Water lily
The phrase "water lily" is used to describe aquatic plants of the following families, which have lily pads:* Nymphaeaceae* Nelumbonaceae , also called "lotus"Water lily may also refer to:...
and other aquatic plants and lake levels would have changed dynamically in response to rainfall or snow-melt.
These and many other plants would have formed the base of a complex food web
Food web
A food web depicts feeding connections in an ecological community. Ecologists can broadly lump all life forms into one of two categories called trophic levels: 1) the autotrophs, and 2) the heterotrophs...
. The mammals that we have evidence for include herbivores such as beaver
Beaver
The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
, red deer, roe deer
Roe Deer
The European Roe Deer , also known as the Western Roe Deer, chevreuil or just Roe Deer, is a Eurasian species of deer. It is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. Roe Deer are widespread in Western Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, and from...
, elk
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
(known as moose in North America), aurochs
Aurochs
The aurochs , the ancestor of domestic cattle, were a type of large wild cattle which inhabited Europe, Asia and North Africa, but is now extinct; it survived in Europe until 1627....
, wild boar, hare
Hare
Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...
and carnivores such as wolf, lynx
Lynx
A lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes...
, bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
, fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
, pine marten
Pine Marten
The European Pine Marten , known most commonly as the pine marten in Anglophone Europe, and less commonly also known as Pineten, baum marten, or sweet marten, is an animal native to Northern Europe belonging to the mustelid family, which also includes mink, otter, badger, wolverine and weasel. It...
, badger
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
and hedgehog
Hedgehog
A hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae and the order Erinaceomorpha. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand . There are no hedgehogs native to Australia, and no living species native to the Americas...
.
Key artefacts
Along with the flints that are characteristic of Mesolithic sites, there were a large number of objects made of red deer and elk antler, elk bone, aurochs bone and one piece of bird bone. Rarer objects included worked amberAmber
Amber is fossilized tree resin , which has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Amber is used as an ingredient in perfumes, as a healing agent in folk medicine, and as jewelry. There are five classes of amber, defined on the basis of their chemical constituents...
, shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
, haematite, iron pyrites and tightly-rolled pieces of birch-bark and pieces of birch-resin pitch or tar and worked wood.
The flint found at Star Carr came from nearby beaches, which at time of occupation would have been about 10 to 20 km (6.2 to 12.4 ) distant, and also from the Yorkshire Wolds
Yorkshire Wolds
The Yorkshire Wolds are low hills in the counties of East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire in northeastern England. The name also applies to the district in which the hills lie....
immediately to the south of the site.
The two most outstanding categories of finds are the 'barbed points' and 'antler frontlets'. The barbed points are made of the antler of red deer stags. They are between 8 centimetres (3.1 in) and 38 centimetres (15 in) in length and the 195 examples found at Star Carr account for more than 95% of the total number from the British Mesolithic. Many of the barbed points and antler frontlets appear to be deliberately broken. The antler frontlets are made from red deer stag (male) skulls with the antlers still attached. The 21 antler frontlets are sufficiently complete to see how they have been manufactured: two holes were perforated through the skull with a flint tool and the inside of the skull cap was smoothed. The antlers on each frontlet has been carefully trimmed to reduce weight. It seems very likely that these modifications are designed to allow the frontlets to be used as headgear.
Evidence of Structures
Post holes, a sunken area and concentrations of flints, burning and other artefacts indicate the presence of a structure approximately 3.5 metres (11.5 ft) wide. The posts were almost certainly made of wood and roughly 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in diameter there may have been as many as 18 of them and the holes indicated that several may have been replaced over the course of the structure's use.It is impossible to know the form or materials from which the walls and/or roof would have been made. They may have used hides
Hides
A hide is an animal skin treated for human use. Hides include leather from cattle and other livestock animals, alligator skins, snake skins for shoes and fashion accessories and furs from wild cats, mink and bears. In some areas, leather is produced on a domestic or small industrial scale, but most...
, thatch, turf
Turf
Turf may refer to:* Lawn, an area of grass maintained for decorative or recreational use* Golf course turf and other manicured sporting greens...
or bark
Bark
Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
on a conical (teepee-like) or rounded (wigwam
Wigwam
A wigwam or wickiup is a domed room dwelling used by certain Native American tribes. The term wickiup is generally used to label these kinds of dwellings in American Southwest and West. Wigwam is usually applied to these structures in the American Northeast...
-like) frame. There is no reason to suppose that the same materials and form would have been used for the structure's entire life-span. There was evidence that the floor was covered with a layer of moss, reeds and other soft plant materials 20 centimetres (7.9 in)–30 centimetres (11.8 in) deep.
Radiocarbon dates indicated a use-life of between 200 and 500 years.
The structure has been compared to the Mesolithic structure found at Howick
Howick, Northumberland
Howick is a village in Northumberland, between Boulmer and Craster. It is just inland from the North Sea, into which Howick burn flows, from Howick Hall...
, Northumberland and British Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
roundhouses
Roundhouse (dwelling)
The roundhouse is a type of house with a circular plan, originally built in western Europe before the Roman occupation using walls made either of stone or of wooden posts joined by wattle-and-daub panels and a conical thatched roof. Roundhouses ranged in size from less than 5m in diameter to over 15m...
.
A large wooden platform has been discovered nearby on the shore of the former lake – the earliest known example of carpentry in Europe, though its purpose is as yet unknown. Timbers of Aspen and Willow were split along the grain using wedges (probably made of wood and antler) these were then laid in the boggy areas at the lake shore, presumably to provide firm footing.
The extent of the wooden platform is not known but it may be a significantly larger and more complex undertaking than the house-like structure.
Chronology
Current radiocarbon dates from the site itself indicate occupation from around 8770 BC9th millennium BC
The 9th millennium BC marks the beginning of the Neolithic period.Agriculture spread throughout the Fertile Crescent and use of pottery became more widespread. Larger settlements like Jericho arose along salt and flint trade routes. Northern Eurasia was resettled as the glaciers of the last glacial...
until about 8460 BC, with a possible period of abandonment between 8680 BC and 8580 BC.
Discovery and initial excavations
Star Carr was discovered in 1947 when John Moore, an amateur archaeologist, noticed flints in the exposed soil of several recently dredged ditches in the eastern Vale of Pickering. One of these sites, bordering on the New Hertford River was to the south of Star Carr Farm. Moore decided to excavate a small trench at Star Carr in 1948 as part of a series of investigations. On the discovery of intact organic remains Moore contacted Professor Grahame Clark of the University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
via the curator of the Scarborough Museum
Rotunda Museum
The Rotunda Museum is one of the oldest purpose-built museums still in use in the United Kingdom. The curved grade II* listed building was constructed in 1829 as one of the country's first purpose-built museums...
.
Clark began his investigation with the explicit aim of building a more detailed picture of the Mesolithic environment and the ways in which people used it. The organic preservation enabled the recovery of the plant and animal remains necessary for this. Clark excavated from 1949–1951. Clark's 1954 publication of these excavations is a seminal text in the study of the British Mesolithic and prehistory generally.
Clark believed he had uncovered the entirety of the site and believed Star Carr could be used as a type-site for the British Mesolithic. He drew parallels between the finds at Star Carr and the site of Maglemose in Denmark. It is now recognised that many of Clark’s inferences were incorrect but the excavation remains one of the most important in the study of British prehistory ever undertaken.
Further investigations: The Lake Flixton Landscape
In 1977 archaeologists excavated Iron AgeIron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
, Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
and Mesolithic material from Seamer
Seamer
-Places:* Seamer, Hambleton, North Yorkshire, England* Seamer, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England** Seamer railway station, a railway station that serves Seamer, Scarborough-Other:* Can seamer, a machine used to seal the lid to the can body...
Carr, just to the north of Star Carr. These excavations were conducted in advance of the Seamer Carr landfill site. The discovery of Mesolithic material led to a new series of investigations around Lake Flixton directed by Tim Schadla-Hall (currently University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
) and Paul Lane (currently University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
). This team returned to Star Carr in 1985 and 1989.
This project investigated the archaeology and ecology of the wider landscape around Lake Flixton and found several more Mesolithic sites but none with an as many of the unusual artefacts (such as barbed points and antler frontlets) discovered at Star Carr.
The latest investigations
In the 2000s new excavations began at Star Carr. This reinvestigation is being directed by Nicky Milner (University of York), Chantal Conneller and Barry Taylor (University of ManchesterUniversity of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
). This ongoing project has reinvestigated Clark's excavations and also excavated the dry-land, discovering the structure.
Most significantly, recent geochemical investigations have demonstrated that the preservation conditions have deteriorated. The result of this is that any remaining organic artefacts will be far less informative than those discovered by previous excavation projects. Though the reasons for this remain somewhat unclear, it appears that the acidity of the groundwater has massively increased in the last few years.
Interpretive debates
Clark, the original excavator, believed the Mesolithic people would have lived on a brushwood platform on the edge of the former Lake Flixton. Recent excavations have revealed that people would have lived on the dry land upslope of the lake and various activities would have been carried out at the lake edge.There is much debate about the time of year the site was occupied. Mesolithic people hunted a number of animals including red and roe deer, elk, aurochs and wild boar. but there are various seasonal assessments and as the site was occupied over several hundred years it is likely that seasonal practices varied over time.
It has been suggested that the antler frontlets were used as a hunting disguise, or in some form of ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
practice. Recent work suggests that these, along with other objects made from red deer antler, appear to have been respectfully deposited at the lake edge due to the spiritual significance of red deer to the people who occupied the site.
External links
- New Excavations at Star Carr, University of York
- Star Carr, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge
- To Block Lift or not to Block Lift? An Experiment at the Early Mesolithic Site of Star Carr, North-East Yorkshire, UK, micro-excavating a block from Star Carr in the laboratory
- In The Beginning, From Dot to Domesday
- Red deer antler head-dress from Star Carr, British Museum
- Stone Age remains are Britain's earliest house, University of Manchester
- Star Carr – The Otherside of the Antler, video about the excavations in 2006, Vale of Pickering Archaeological Trust