Study reveals Stonehenge landscape before the world-famous monument


Date:
April 29, 2022
Source:
University of Southampton
Summary:
Four thousand years before Stonehenge was constructed, land
within the World Heritage Site was covered by open woodland,
with meadow-like clearings, inhabited by grazing animals and
hunter-gatherers, according to new research.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
Four thousand years before Stonehenge was constructed, land within
the World Heritage Site was covered by open woodland, with meadow-like clearings, inhabited by grazing animals and hunter-gatherers, according
to new research by the University of Southampton.


========================================================================== Scientists exploring Blick Mead, a Mesolithic archaeological site within
a chalkland spring area about a mile from the iconic standing-stones,
have found evidence the land was not covered in dense, closed canopy
forests during the later Mesolithic period, as had previously been
thought. Rather, it was partially wooded and populated by aurochs
(cattle), red deer, elk and wild boar -- making it good hunting ground
for humans who lived opportunistically off the land, prior to the arrival
of early farmers.

Lead researcher, Samuel Hudson, of Geography and Environmental Science
at Southampton explains: "There has been intensive study of the Bronze
Age and Neolithic history of the Stonehenge landscape, but less is known
about earlier periods. The integration of evidence recovered from previous excavations at Blick Mead, coupled with our own fieldwork, allowed us
to understand more about the flora and fauna of the landscape prior to construction of the later world- famous monument complex.

"Past theories suggest the area was thickly wooded and cleared in later
periods for farming and monument building. However, our research points
to pre- Neolithic, hunting-gatherer inhabitants, living in open woodland
which supported aurochs and other grazing herbivores." The research team analysed pollen, fungal spores and traces of DNA preserved in ancient
sediment (sedaDNA), combined with optically stimulated luminescence (OSL)
and radiocarbon dating to produce an environmental history of the site.

Using this evidence, they built a picture of the habitat in the area from
the later Mesolithic (5500 BC) to the Neolithic period (from 4,000 BC).

The study indicates that later Mesolithic populations at Blick Mead
took advantage of more open conditions to repeatedly exploit groups
of large ungulates (hoofed mammals), until a transition to farmers and monument-builders took place. In a sense, the land was pre-adapted for
the later large-scale monument building, as it did not require clearance
of woodland, due to the presence of these pre-existing open habitats. The researchers suggest there was continuity between the inhabitants of the
two eras, who utilised the land in different ways, but understood it to
be a favourable location.

The findings of the team from Southampton, working with colleagues at
the universities of Buckingham, Tromso/ and Salzburg, are published in
the journal PLOS ONE.

The scientists plan further exploration of the Mesolithic history of
this area, which they hope to begin at the end of this year.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Southampton. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Related Multimedia:
* Stonehenge,_Aurochs_hoof_prints_and_Auroch_bones ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Samuel M. Hudson, Ben Pears, David Jacques, Thierry Fonville, Paul
Hughes, Inger Alsos, Lisa Snape, Andreas Lang, Antony Brown. Life
before Stonehenge: The hunter-gatherer occupation and environment
of Blick Mead revealed by sedaDNA, pollen and spores. PLOS ONE,
2022; 17 (4): e0266789 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266789 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220429151600.htm

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