A team of archaeologists and scientists led by Karen Hardy, Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology at the University of Glasgow, has discovered evidence for one of the earliest human populations yet known in Scotland.
Stone tools found on the Isle of Skye have been dated to a period known as the Late Upper Paleolithic (LUP), around 11,500 – 11,000 years ago. The wider context of these finds has been analyzed in detail, with respect to highly detailed maps of local glacier formation and an enigmatic group of stone circular structures which appears to lie below modern sea level. These sites were discovered by Professor Hardy and local archaeologist, Martin Wildgoose.
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Their discovery means that the west coast now represents the largest concentration of evidence for these pioneer human populations anywhere in Scotland and reveals how early humans of this period ventured much further north than previously believed.
The discoveries have been announced in a paper entitled ‘At the far end of everything: A likely Ahrensburgian presence in the far north of the Isle of Skye, Scotland,’ which was just published in The Journal of Quaternary Science.
The Ahrensburgian Culture: Their Incredible Journey
Originating in northern Europe toward the end of the Upper Paleolithic, Ahrensburgian culture is characterized by distinctive stone tools, including tanged points and blades, associated with reindeer hunters during the later part of the Younger Dryas and into the Early Holocene. Past assumptions held that populations could not have survived the climatic extremes of the Younger Dryas, a period of abrupt cooling that occurred between approximately 12,900 and 11,700 years ago, characterized by significant glacier expansion across the British Isles.
Some of the Ahrensburgian stone tools found on the Isle of Skye. (Karen Hardy/University of Glasgow).
“This is a hugely significant discovery which offers a new perspective on the earliest human occupation yet known, of north-west Scotland,” Professor Karen Hardy said.
The team, from the universities of Leeds, Sheffield, Leeds Beckett and Flinders in Australia worked together to reconstruct the local landscape and changing sea levels. During this period, which is immediately after the Younger Dryas (also known as the Loch Lomond Stadial), when much of west Scotland was buried under ice, groups of nomadic hunter-gatherers most likely of the Ahrensburgian culture from northern Europe, crossed Doggerland (a now-submerged land mass that connected Britain to continental Europe), an area currently covered by the North Sea, and established themselves on Skye.
Map of Skye and surrounding islands. (Nilfanion/CC BY-SA 3.0).
Landscape Changes and Survival Strategies
Back then, the landscape of Scotland would have looked very different to today.
Professor Hardy adds: “The journey made by these pioneering people who left their lowland territories in mainland Europe to travel northwards into the unknown, is the ultimate adventure story. As they journeyed northwards, most likely following animal herds, they eventually reached Scotland, where the western landscape was dramatically changing as glaciers melted and the land rebounded as it recovered from the weight of the ice. A good example of the volatility they would have encountered can be found in Glen Roy, where the world-famous Parallel Roads provide physical testament to the huge landscape changes and cataclysmic floods that they would have encountered, as they travelled across Scotland.”
Ruins in the cleared landscape of abandoned village of Tusdale, once so populous that it was nicknamed "the capital of Skye." (John Allan/Geograph UK/CC BY-SA 2.0).
Once they reached Skye, these early people crafted tools from stone found locally on Skye. Professor Hardy believes the settlers deliberately and strategically chose where to base themselves as they selected a location that had good access to coastal and riverine resources, as well as natural materials like ochre that was highly valued by ancient cultures.
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The paper concludes by saying: “While the number of Ahrensburgian findspots is low, they are spread widely across Scotland, including from the islands of Tiree, Orkney and Islay, that also imply significant sea journeys, suggesting a larger population than the number of finds might imply. To date, all Late Upper Palaeolithic (LUP) sites in Scotland have been discovered by chance, and there is insufficient evidence to address further questions regarding their adaptations and lifestyles. By reconstructing the geographical limitations imposed by ice sheet evolution, changes in Relative Sea Level (RSL) and river courses, it may be possible to focus on other likely locations – both onshore and offshore – and begin to uncover more evidence.”
Panoramic view of the landscape on the Isle of Skye, as seen from Loch Fada. (Klaus with K/CC BY-SA 3.0).
Prehistoric Pioneers
Recovering evidence for a LUP presence in Scotland presents challenges unmatched in continental Europe, the researchers noted. However, despite being distant from its central area, the evidence from Skye reflects an Ahrensburgian presence at the extreme north- west continental limit, extending their distribution.
According to Professor Hardy and her team, the people who made these artifacts originated in the mainland of northwest Europe, crossed Doggerland into what is now Britain, and eventually reached the far north of the Isle of Skye. Here, they adapted to live in a fragmented, fluctuating, and volatile environment amid melting glaciers, mountains, and oceans – vastly different from the low-lying environments of their homelands on the northwestern edge of the Great European Plain.
Modern village of Portree, the largest settlement on the Isle of Skye. (Bewahrerderwerte/CC BY-SA 4.0).
Although the sites themselves cannot be visited, the landscape these early pioneers encountered can be imagined at Sconser. Around 11,000 years ago, after the last of the Cuillin Mountain glaciers had melted, the sea level would still be lower than today, and it would have been possible to walk to Raasay.
Top image: Ancient circular stone alignment found at Sconser on Isle of Skye.
Source: Jamie Booth/University of Glasgow.
This is an expanded version of a news article published by the University of Glasgow, entitled ‘Ancient human settlement discovered on Scottish island pushes known boundaries.’
