Archaeological findings at the famous Mesolithic site 'Star Ker' in North Yorkshire suggest that hunter-gatherers maintained an orderly living space by allocating specific areas for different domestic activities
Research on the Mesolithic site 'Star Ker' (Star Carr) in North Yorkshire, England, shows that ancient hunter-gatherers organized their homes into specific activity areas, which suggests a structured approach to routine within a home similar to modern domestic organization, despite their nomadic nature.
The research team from the University of York and Newcastle University examined microscopic evidence of the use of stone tools found inside three buildings - which may have been cone or dome shaped - dating back more than 11,000 years at the Star Ker site.
They found that there was a variety of activities that probably took place inside the 'house', including working with wood, bones, horns, plants, hides, meat and fish. The researchers mapped the spatial patterns of these activities to determine where within the building these activities took place.
Organization of activity areas in ancient buildings
Dr Jess Bates, from the Department of Archeology at the University of York, said: "We found that there were distinct areas for different types of activity, so that the dirty activity involving allowances, for example, was done in what appeared to be a designated area, and separated from the more 'clean' tasks such as Creating bone and wood objects, tools or jewelry.
"This was a surprise since hunter-gatherers are known for being very mobile, as they had to go out to find food, yet they have a very organized approach to not only creating a home but also creating a sense of home.
"This new research on these early house forms suggests that these structures not only served a practical purpose in the sense of providing shelter from the weather, but that certain social norms of home were preserved that are not very different from how we organize our homes today."
Previous studies have also shown that there is evidence that hunter-gatherers kept their houses clean, as well as in order, with signs that they would also clean the inside of the building/
Early British structures and social norms
'Cold Star' provides the earliest evidence of British buildings and the earliest forms of architecture. One of the structures found is thought to be shaped like a cone and built from felled trees, as well as coverings that may have been made from plants, such as reeds, or animal skins. There is still very little information about why hunter-gatherers built such structures and continued to do so throughout the Mesolithic period.
Dr Bates said: "Not only do we now know that hunter-gatherers built these structures, but that they had a shared group understanding of how to organize tasks within them."
"In modern society, we are very physically and emotionally connected to our homes, but in the distant past communities were very mobile, so it is fascinating to see that, nevertheless, the idea of maintaining an orderly home space still exists."
"This research shows that microscopic-scale analysis can be a fascinating way to get at the details of these houses and what they meant to those who lived in them."
Source: "Spatial organization within the earliest evidence for pillared buildings in Britain" by Jessica Bates, Nicky Milner, Chantal Conner and Amy Little, 15 Jul 2024, PLOS ONE.
Anthropology, Archaeology, University of York
Tags: archaeology, anthropology, hunter-gatherers, Star Ker, Mesolithic buildings, University of York, University of Newcastle, domestic organization, ancient buildings, microscopic research, ancient domestic life, domestic cleanliness, social norms, ancient hunter-gatherers, Mesolithic period
More of the topic in Hayadan:
7 תגובות
Hello Jacob. Please give me an example of a date in your book
But this is clearly not true
The world has not existed for more than 5784 years, which is actually the year of the XNUMXth Millennium
So all these findings are vanity and ill will, these are theories that have no basis, I can also get up tomorrow and scribble
And to Mr. Shlomo Naaman who responded to me
I'm sorry but you write incorrect things that have no level of intelligence. A. There is nothing new under the sun. Where did you get that the times have changed, there was no such thing and there will be no world as usual. And it is a fact that when Jacob left the country for Haran at the behest of his mother Rebekah, God brought the sun down early so that he would be on the way and then he dreamed his dream with the ladder and the angels. And in order to return this time Joshua put the heat in its place as it is said that the sun was in Gibeon Dom. So that no time has changed and everything is meticulous according to the real time that exists.
What is more, perhaps you meant that the days with God are different in their time compared to humans, with God every day is a thousand years.
And regarding the second claim, it is clear that the Torah also teaches us history. All the stories of the Bible are a study of the history that existed in those days and were written to teach us. You will be surprised that today every historical finding by science has antecedents to it already the words of the holy Sages mentioned in the Midrash and the Talmud. There is a whole book that shows one by one.
To "I":
The contradiction between the biblical description and the claims of science has several answers. Two of them are the statue of the old man and the length of one day in creation (in the passages "Beresheet" and "Noah" the order of the world was different from what we know). Besides, there is free choice in this world, and this includes the absence of overwhelming evidence (such as too good compatibility between the Torah and science) for the truth of the Torah. What's more, the Torah and science deal with completely different things: the Torah comes to guide man in what is the right way to conduct himself in the world, not to teach history*. Science - on the other hand - comes to tell us how the world runs and has run technically: what, how much, why and how. But the right way to conduct life - it is not the role of science to provide (although it does do it to some extent, in a long and difficult way).
* See the first Rashi on the Torah, which explains why the Torah nevertheless tells little history
When G-d created the world he did not commit to any norms that science today checks what the approximate age of the object is, he already created it in a certain number of years for example 400000 and when science says that the age is x it does not commit to the moment of creation of the creature/inanimate..
What nonsense the world has not even reached 6 thousand years yet
In Neve Yam in the winter after a storm, the sand was shifted and a 10000 year old Neolithic village was discovered on the mud. You could see houses and clearly the place of the 'kitchen' by the fire, many pottery shards and bone fragments in concentration.
very interesting
amateur