Archaelogists in Kent unearth hidden Stone Age settlement

A team of archaeologists from the Shorne Hubcap Project have revealed a previously unknown Stone Age encampment some 6-8,000 years old.

Among thousands of fragments of flint have been found a variety of stone tools, including hand-axes, picks, and blades.

The finds are the results of recent excavations at a site in Cobham Woods by a group of 20 trained volunteer archaeologists, under the supervision of Kent County Council’s community archaeologist, Andrew Mayfield.

Over the past few weeks, the team has excavated some 20 small pits, each  one metre square. Every pit has revealed pieces of worked flint, painting a picture of a camp site repeatedly visited over the years by a tribe of nomadic Stone Age people.

Andrew Mayfield explained: “Because the people of the Mesolithic, or Middle Stone Age, period were nomads, they leave no traces of buildings or earthworks. Flint finds like these are the only evidence they leave.

“The Mesolithic period is a poorly understood part of Kent’s history, with few such finds elsewhere in the county. Because the finds at Ranscombe appear to be in much the same place they were dropped over 6,000 years ago, they could tell us a lot about our ancient past.”

Most of the fragments of flint found during the excavations are small flakes, the waste created by chipping pieces off a large flint in order to create a useful tool. But carefully-worked hand axes and picks up to 15cm long have been recovered, as well as stone adzes probably used for working wood. At the other end of the size scale are tiny, thin, razor sharp barbs which would have been fitted into the heads of arrows or spears for hunting.

Perhaps the finest piece found is not from the Mesolithic Period at all, but an arrowhead dating back some 4,000 years to the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age. This suggests a long period of human occupancy of the area.

The site first came to notice late last winter, when Cuxton resident and history enthusiast, Dave May, noticed pieces of flint had been thrown up along a track during woodland management work. Mr May, whose work as a volunteer at Ranscombe Farm Reserve has given him a keen eye for Stone Age relics, soon spotted the flints for what they really were. He got in touch with Andrew Mayfield, who set up the detailed exploration.

The archaeological digs have been completed for now, and are not in a part of the wood which is easily accessible to visitors.

But the work will continue, with all the pieces being catalogued and sorted in order to gain a fuller understanding of how ancient people were using the site. There has been interest from the British Museum, and a full report will be prepared. It is also hoped to make more information, together with photographs of some of the most interesting finds, available via the internet.

Full story: http://www.kentnews.co.uk/news/archaelogists_in_kent_unearth_hidden_stone_age_settlement_1_1424019

Visit The Stone Age Tools Museum: http://www.stoneagetools.co.uk/

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Tools from Yemen confirm African exodus

Stone Age tools uncovered in Yemen point to humans leaving Africa and inhabiting

Lithics from Yemen

Arabia perhaps as far back as 63,000 years ago, according to Anne Delagnes of Université Bordeaux. The archaeologists have been studying the site of Shi’bat Dihya located in a wadi, or gully, that connects Yemen’s highlands to the coastal plains of the Red Sea.
The age of the site puts it at a time when early modern humans were thought to be first emigrating from Eastern Africa to the rest of the world. “The Arabian Peninsula is routinely considered as the corridor where migrating East African populations would have passed during a single or multiple dispersal events,” says the study. “It has also been suggested that the groups who colonized South Asia rapidly expanded from South and East Africa along the Arabian coastlines around 60 ka BP (60,000 years ago), bringing with them a modern behavioural package including microlithic (stone) backed tools, ostrich-eggshell beads or engraved fragments. However, this scenario is not supported by any hard archaeological evidence from the Arabian Peninsula. Up until recently, the absence of stratified contexts (archaeological sites) from the entirety of the region has rendered issues concerning the timing and trajectories of the earliest expansions of modern humans into the region largely theoretical.”

Read the full story here  http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/004807.html
Visit the Stone Age Tools Museum at http://www.stoneagetools.co.uk

NPL analyses surface wear on stone tools

Innovative research by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and the University of Bradford used laser microscopes to explore how stone tools were used in prehistory, and the process has helped streamline surface measurement techniques for modern manufacturers.

Archaeologists at the University of Bradford hypothesised that reconstructing past activities was the best way to study what each tool was used for. They proposed to measure the surface structures of replica stone tools before and after they were used in different reconstructions on two natural materials – antler and wood.
NPL conducted surface measurement investigations on the replica tools using a confocal microscope to create a map of surface structure. Richard Leach, who led the work at NPL, said: “We measured the surfaces of each tool using a confocal microscope to create a map of its surface structure. Optical measurements create 3D constructions of each surface recorded without physically contacting the surface.”

Read the full story here: http://phys.org/news/2012-07-stone-age-tools-modern.html

Visit The Stone Age Tools Museum http://www.stoneagetools.co.uk