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"Warren, Graeme"
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Is There Such a Thing as Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology?
This paper examines two related questions: firstly, whether there is a distinctive field of practice that might be called “hunter-gatherer archaeology” and which is different than other kinds of archaeology, and secondly, how such a claim might be justified. This question is considered through four prisms: (1) whether hunter-gatherers provide a unitary object of research; (2) whether hunter-gatherer archaeology is the same in different parts of the world; (3) whether hunter-gatherer archaeology is characterised by distinctive forms of archaeological record; and (4) whether there are distinctive themes within the field. None of these approaches provide a single unifying core, with any definition at best a constellation of “partially shared features” and with considerable difficulties surrounding the uncritical continued use of the concept of hunter-gatherers, which is linked to colonial ideologies and practices. Rather than provide a single unitary answer, it is proposed that the value and legitimacy of the concept of “hunter gatherer archaeology” requires consideration in the local contexts within which it might be used. In the European context within which I work, the broader social significance of the idea of the hunter-gatherer provides a significant opportunity for the development of a self-reflexive and publicly engaged hunter-gatherer archaeology committed to decoloniality. In this context, the potentials that the idea of a “hunter-gatherer archaeology” provides can, with caution, justify the continued use of the term. This answer will not characterise other locations, especially in colonised nations.
Journal Article
Getting to the root of the problem: new evidence for the use of plant root foods in Mesolithic hunter-gatherer subsistence in Europe
This paper presents new evidence for the harvesting of edible plant roots and tubers at Northton, a Mesolithic hunter-gatherer site on Harris, in the Western Isles of Scotland, in the north-west corner of Europe. The excavations uncovered abundant root tuber remains of
Ficaria verna
Huds. (lesser celandine), an excellent high energy and carbohydrate-rich food source, and produced the first evidence for the use of tubers of
Lathyrus linifolius
(Reichard) Bässler (bitter-vetch) at a hunter-gatherer site in Europe. Here we report on the analysis of the charred root and tuber remains and other charred plant macrofossils from the site and consider the significance of these results within the wider context of European hunter-gatherer subsistence. The wide range of root and tuber taxa recovered from European hunter-gatherer sites and the importance of appropriate sampling on hunter-gatherer sites are highlighted.
Journal Article
The Diversity of Hunter Gatherer Pasts
This thought provoking collection of new research papers explores the extent of variation amongst hunting and gathering peoples past and present and the considerable analytical challenges presented by this diversity. This problem is especially important in archaeology, where increasing empirical evidence illustrates ways of life that are not easily encompassed within the range of variation recognized in the contemporary world of surviving hunter-gatherers. Put simply, how do past hunter-gatherers fit into our understandings of hunter-gatherers? Furthermore, given the inevitable archaeological reliance on analogy, it is important to ask whether conceptions of hunter-gatherers based on contemporary societies restrict our comprehension of past diversity and of how this changes over the long term. Discussion of hunter-gatherers shows them to be varied and flexible, but modeling of contemporary hunter-gatherers has not only reduced them into essential categories, but has also portrayed them as static and without history. It is often said that the study of hunter-gatherers can provide insight into past forms of social organization and behavior; unfortunately too often it has limited our understandings of these societies. In contrast, contributors here explore past hunter-gather diversity over time and space to provide critical perspectives on general models of ‘hunter-gatherers’ and attempt to provide new perspectives on hunter-gatherer societies from the greater diversity present in the past.
eBook
From Moments to Histories: A Social Archaeology of the Mesolithic?
This contribution will provide a critical overview of the other papers within this special issue of Journal of World Prehistory (Elliott and Little 2018), identifying key aspects of the discussion and assessing potentials and problems in the development of Mesolithic archaeology in Britain and Ireland as a whole since 2006 (Conneller and Warren in Mesolithic Britain and Ireland: New approaches, Stroud, Tempus, 2006a). Reflections will include how the contribution of very high-resolution analyses to Mesolithic archaeology has changed since 2006 and the scale of our interpretations. The review will also identify areas which appear to be falling from analytical focus, including the role of analogies in Mesolithic archaeology and the nature of power and social relationships in Mesolithic communities.
Journal Article
PRODUCTION MIX PROBLEMS: FORMULATION AND SOLUTION STRATEGIES
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This paper examines the sub-optimality of generalized greedy heuristics for solut ion of a certain well-known production mix problem formulation . The drawbacks of not modelling routing in the mix problem formulation are discussed, and an alternati ve mix prob lem formulation (with assoc iated solution strategies) is proposed .
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie artikel verduidelik die sub-optirnaliteit van ' n algemene gulsige heuristiek vir 'n sekere bekende produkmengsel probleemformulering. Die nadele van weglating van produk roete inligting in die formulering is bespreek, en ' n alternatiewe formulering (met geassosieerde oplossingsstrategiee) is voorgestel.
Journal Article
Looking at things anew
The paper by Anderson-Whymark, Garrow and Sturt raises very important questions about how we understand Later Mesolithic Britain, Ireland and continental Europe. National research traditions have, at times, obscured our understanding of contacts and connections between areas in the Mesolithic. A focus on the distribution of a small range of artefacts has created a situation where Mesolithic cultures begin to resemble nation-states (Marchand 2014: 11). Our terminology reflects and reifies these distinctions. If we wish to understand how social geographies within Britain and Ireland change over time, it is unhelpful, to say the least, that they should have such inconsistent period terminology: the British Early Mesolithic is absent from Ireland; the British Later Mesolithic is the Irish Early Mesolithic; and the Irish Later Mesolithic does not exist in Britain. The continental terminology is different again, and linguistic barriers remain a problem to regional-level synthesis. Anderson-Whymark et al .'s engagement with the loving detail of French lithic typology is hence to be welcomed.
Journal Article
The Adoption of Agriculture in Ireland: Perceptions of Key Research Challenges
This paper outlines the results of a project carried out 2007-2008 providing oversight of key challenges in the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Ireland as understood by those researching the period. The project involved interviews with practitioners from a variety of fields in order to obtain qualitative data. The resulting synthesis is not a 'consensus' statement of priorities, but a reflection of a very diverse research field. Given that the project took place at a time of considerable change in Irish archaeology, the strengths and weaknesses of research into the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition are of broader relevance.
Journal Article
Interactions of Care and Control: Human–animal Relationships in Hunter-gatherer Communities in Near-contemporary Eastern Siberia and the Mesolithic of Northwest Europe
This contribution explores modes of human–animal interactions in hunter-gatherer communities in near-contemporary eastern Siberia and the Mesolithic of northwest Europe. By discussing notions of care and control and drawing on syntheses of Russian-language ethnographic data from eastern Siberia, this paper explores the diversity and nuances of hunter-gatherers’ interactions with animals. While some contexts may reveal respectful yet diverse treatments of the hunted animals, others suggest that hunter-gatherers also might have interacted with animals kept as pets, captives or companions, thus implicating relations in which notions of care and control seem to be tightly bound.
Journal Article
The potential role of humans in structuring the wooded landscapes of Mesolithic Ireland: a review of data and discussion of approaches
This paper has two primary aims. Firstly, we review new data demonstrating interactions between people, plants, animals and woodlands in Mesolithic Ireland (ca. 8000-4000 cal. B.C.). This includes a synthesis of evidence from archaeological fishtraps, plant macrofossils, palynological indications of disturbance, and large mammal records. Secondly, we suggest that the potential role of humans in structuring the wooded landscape of the island of Ireland has been underestimated and is a key area for future research; Ireland may be an important case study for understanding the role of hunter-gatherers in influencing ecological relationships at the landscape scale. The new data demonstrate that existing models of the role of humans in structuring the wooded landscapes of Ireland are inadequate, and we suggest that new models are required.
Journal Article