H K Robson
Biographic Data
| ID | 49976 |
|---|---|
| NAME | H K Robson |
| GIVEN NAMES | H K |
| FAMILY NAME | Robson |
| SIGNATURE | ROBSON H K |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of York |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4850-692X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 33 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 113 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 33 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
A first toast in Kuyavia
Excavations at Sławęcinek in central Poland, have yielded evidence for the Neolithic Funnel Beaker Culture, concurrent with a sweeping set of changes that occurred across much of Europe in the mid-fourth millennium BC. A set of vessels containing collared flasks, ceramic glasses and a beaker were found, demonstrating that libations of lactose-reduced dairy beverages were performed between 3500–3350 BC. One of the vessels, a funnel beaker, feature…
Fishing
Fish played a vital role in the development of the European Mesolithic; from their colonization of the continent during the Upper Palaeolithic to ongoing debates regarding their importance across the Neolithic transition, they are central to many discussions. Here, we focus on the European Mesolithic zooarchaeological fish dataset, in which we have collated >640,000 identified fish remains from 358 sites. We aim to document the development of fis…
Wattling for Fish
The importance of forest resources to the Stone Age populations of Northern Europe has not been comprehensively studied, despite wood raw materials forming the basis for life, settlement, mobility, and subsistence. In addition to firewood and construction needs, wood has been used for a wide range of purposes. The paucity of research is due to the limited preservation of organic materials at archaeological sites in drylands, whereas wetlands and …
Gabriel Cooney. 2023. Death in Irish prehistory. Dublin
The oldest farmers’ settlement from Poland. New interdisciplinary data on chronology and economy from the Gwoździec site
In der zweiten Hälfte des 6. Jahrtausends v. Chr. wanderten die ersten mit der Bandkeramik verbundenen Bauern aus und ihre Kultur verbreitete sich in die Gebiete nördlich der Karpaten. Bisher hatte man angenommen, dass diese frühneolithische Ausbreitung in einen Zeitraum um ca. 5500–5400 v. Chr. fällt, was sich vor allem auf vergleichende Studien der stilistischen Merkmale der Keramik stützte. Seit einiger Zeit gibt es jedoch bei zahlreichen Fors…
Neolithisation through bone
Despite an increasing number of studies, the application of stable sulfur (δ34S) isotope analysis to prehistoric bone collagen remains in its infancy. Conventionally, stable sulfur isotope compositions reflect coastal proximity and the interaction between humans and animals. Here, we undertook stable carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N) and sulfur (δ34S) isotope analysis of human and faunal bone collagen. To understand the local environmental condition…
Fishing with Stationary Wooden Structures in Stone Age Denmark
An abundance and diverse range of prehistoric fishing practices was revealed during excavations between 2012 and 2022 at the construction site of the Femern Belt Tunnel, linking the islands of Lolland (Denmark) and Femern (Germany). The waterlogged parts of the prehistoric Syltholm Fjord yielded well preserved organic materials, including the remains of wooden fish traps and weirs, and numerous vertical stakes and posts driven into the former sea…
Garnys
The Globular Amphora Culture in the Eastern Baltic
Until now, Šventoji in northwest Lithuania was considered the most northern site of the Neolithic Globular Amphora Culture (hereafter GAC ; ca. 3400–2500 cal BC ) in Europe. Recently, however, ceramics typologically resembling GAC ware were identified among the materials from the multi-period sites of Abora 1 and Iča in Latvia and further to the north from Tamula in southeast Estonia. Here we present the multi-disciplinary analyses of these ceram…
Cut Above the Rest
Slate was a prominent tool material in the Scandinavian Stone Age. However, details of tool function have relied on morphology and have added little to our understanding of their role in hunting and processing. Here, we demonstrate that it is possible to identify both the use‐wear traces and residues from slate knives from northern Norway. By applying a multi‐disciplinary approach incorporating experimentation, use‐wear and organic residue analys…
Light Production by Ceramic Using Hunter-Gatherer-Fishers of the Circum-Baltic
Artificial illumination is a fundamental human need. Burning wood and other materials usually in hearths and fireplaces extended daylight hours, whilst the use of flammable substances in torches offered light on the move. It is increasingly understood that pottery played a role in light production. In this study, we focus on ceramic oval bowls, made and used primarily by hunter-gatherer-fishers of the circum-Baltic over a c. 2000 year period begi…
The transmission of pottery technology among prehistoric European hunter-gatherers
Human history has been shaped by global dispersals of technologies, although understanding of what enabled these processes is limited. Here, we explore the behavioural mechanisms that led to the emergence of pottery among hunter-gatherer communities in Europe during the mid-Holocene. Through radiocarbon dating, we propose this dispersal occurred at a far faster rate than previously thought. Chemical characterization of organic residues shows that…
Fishing Over the Millennia
Strontium isotope analysis reveals prehistoric mobility patterns in the southeastern Baltic area
The earliest evidence for crop cultivation during the Early Bronze Age in the southeastern Baltic
Organic residue analysis of Early Neolithic ‘bog pots’ from Denmark demonstrates the processing of wild and domestic foodstuffs
Understanding the bone and antler assemblages from Star Carr
The Early Mesolithic fisheries of southern Scandinavia
Southern Scandinavian Mesolithic research has one of the longest traditions within archaeology, dating back to the 1820s and 1830s. However, a combination of site visibility and an emphasis on the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition has meant that research has primarily been directed towards the Late Mesolithic Erteblle culture (c. 5400-4000 cal. BC) at the expense of the Early Mesolithic Maglemose culture (c. 9600-6400 cal. BC). Whilst fishing durin…
Fishers of The Corded Ware Culture in The Eastern Baltic
Between 2800 and 2400 cal BC pastoralists from Central Europe migrated into the eastern Baltic paving the way for the Corded Ware Culture (CWC), and a new type of economy, animal husbandry. Traditionally the CWC people were viewed as highly mobile due to the lack of substantial traces of dwellings and material culture at settlement sites; they were reliant on an economy based on animal husbandry as demonstrated by zooarchaeological and stable iso…
Walnuts, salmon and sika deer
Fish and fishing communities
The papers in this special issue of the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology (IJO) were presented at the 19th biennial meeting of the Fish Remains Working Group (FRWG) of the International Council for Archaeozoology (ICAZ), which was held in Alghero and Stintino, Sardinia, Italy, from October 1–7, 2017. Entitled Fish and Fishing Communities: Understanding Ancient and Modern Fisheries through Archaeological Fish Remains, this conference broug…
Annual Growth Patterns and Interspecimen Variability in Mg/Ca Records of Archaeological Ostrea edulis (European Oyster) from the Late Mesolithic Site of Conors Island
Annual growth patterns in marine mollusc shells are valuable indicators of the condition of marine ecology through time. In archaeological contexts, the mollusc’s time of death (i.e. the last season of growth) is an indicator of human exploitation patterns throughout the year, enabling the reconstruction of when and how often gathering occurred as well as when sites were occupied. Both pieces of information, growth rate and season of death, are v…
The early settlement of Northern Europe
This three-volume publication presents an up-to-date overview on the human colonisation of Northern Europe across the Pleistocene–Holocene transition in Scandinavia, the Eastern Baltic and Great Britain. Volume 1, Ecology of early settlement in Northern Europe , is a collection of 17 articles focusing on subsistence strategies and technologies, ecology and resource availability and demography in relation to different ecological niches. It is stru…
Diet, cuisine and consumption practices of the first farmers in the southeastern Baltic
With the arrival of the Early Neolithic Globular Amphora and Corded Ware cultures into the southeastern Baltic, ca. 2900/2800-2400 cal BC, a new type of economy was introduced, animal husbandry. However, the degree to which this transformed the subsistence economy is unknown. Here, we conducted organic residue analyses of 64 ceramic vessels to identify their contents. The vessels were sampled from 10 Lithuanian archaeological sites dating across …
The Corded Ware culture in the Eastern Baltic
Diet, cuisine and consumption practices of the first farmers in the southeastern Baltic
With the arrival of the Early Neolithic Globular Amphora and Corded Ware cultures into the southeastern Baltic, ca. 2900/2800-2400 cal BC, a new type of economy was introduced, animal husbandry. However, the degree to which this transformed the subsistence economy is unknown. Here, we conducted organic residue analyses of 64 ceramic vessels to identify their contents. The vessels were sampled from 10 Lithuanian archaeological sites dating across …
Carbon and nitrogen isotope signals in eel bone collagen from Mesolithic and Neolithic sites in northern Europe
Strontium isotope analysis reveals prehistoric mobility patterns in the southeastern Baltic area
A Unique Engraved Shale Pendant from the Site of Star Carr
In 2015 an engraved shale pendant was found during excavations at the Early Mesolithic site of Star Carr, UK. Engraved motifs on Mesolithic pendants are extremely rare, with the exception of amber pendants from southern Scandinavia. The artwork on the pendant is the earliest known Mesolithic art in Britain; the 'barbed line' motif is comparable to styles on the Continent, particularly in Denmark. When it was first uncovered the lines were barely …
The transmission of pottery technology among prehistoric European hunter-gatherers
Human history has been shaped by global dispersals of technologies, although understanding of what enabled these processes is limited. Here, we explore the behavioural mechanisms that led to the emergence of pottery among hunter-gatherer communities in Europe during the mid-Holocene. Through radiocarbon dating, we propose this dispersal occurred at a far faster rate than previously thought. Chemical characterization of organic residues shows that…
The Corded Ware culture in the Eastern Baltic
Fishers of The Corded Ware Culture in The Eastern Baltic
Between 2800 and 2400 cal BC pastoralists from Central Europe migrated into the eastern Baltic paving the way for the Corded Ware Culture (CWC), and a new type of economy, animal husbandry. Traditionally the CWC people were viewed as highly mobile due to the lack of substantial traces of dwellings and material culture at settlement sites; they were reliant on an economy based on animal husbandry as demonstrated by zooarchaeological and stable iso…
Walnuts, salmon and sika deer
Annual Growth Patterns and Interspecimen Variability in Mg/Ca Records of Archaeological Ostrea edulis (European Oyster) from the Late Mesolithic Site of Conors Island
Annual growth patterns in marine mollusc shells are valuable indicators of the condition of marine ecology through time. In archaeological contexts, the mollusc’s time of death (i.e. the last season of growth) is an indicator of human exploitation patterns throughout the year, enabling the reconstruction of when and how often gathering occurred as well as when sites were occupied. Both pieces of information, growth rate and season of death, are v…
The application of micro-Raman for the analysis of ochre artefacts from Mesolithic palaeo-lake Flixton
The Ertebølle Zooarchaeological Dataset from Southern Scandinavia
Interdisciplinary archaeological research in southern Scandinavia has a very long history of practice, starting in the mid-19th Century and continuing to the present. In particular, research concerning the late Mesolithic hunter-gatherer-fisher Ertebølle culture (5400-3950 cal BC) has resulted in a large zooarchaeological dataset potentially useable in large-scale comparative, or meta-analyses. In this paper, we review this dataset, and the quant…
Fishing with Stationary Wooden Structures in Stone Age Denmark
An abundance and diverse range of prehistoric fishing practices was revealed during excavations between 2012 and 2022 at the construction site of the Femern Belt Tunnel, linking the islands of Lolland (Denmark) and Femern (Germany). The waterlogged parts of the prehistoric Syltholm Fjord yielded well preserved organic materials, including the remains of wooden fish traps and weirs, and numerous vertical stakes and posts driven into the former sea…
The earliest evidence for crop cultivation during the Early Bronze Age in the southeastern Baltic
Organic residue analysis of Early Neolithic ‘bog pots’ from Denmark demonstrates the processing of wild and domestic foodstuffs
Eel Fishing in the Late Mesolithic and the Early Neolithic
Havnø is a stratified Danish kitchen midden which spans the Late Mesolithic Ertebølle and the Early Neolithic Funnel Beaker cultures, ca. 5000-3500 cal. B.C. This paper presents the results of a study conducted on the fish bones recovered from a complete column sample taken from all levels of a stratified midden. The material is quantified and estimations of total fish lengths are provided. Interpretation focuses on taphonomy, relative importance…
Garnys
Scales of analysis
Carbon and nitrogen isotope signals in eel bone collagen from Mesolithic and Neolithic sites in northern Europe
Eel Fishing in the Late Mesolithic and the Early Neolithic
Havnø is a stratified Danish kitchen midden which spans the Late Mesolithic Ertebølle and the Early Neolithic Funnel Beaker cultures, ca. 5000-3500 cal. B.C. This paper presents the results of a study conducted on the fish bones recovered from a complete column sample taken from all levels of a stratified midden. The material is quantified and estimations of total fish lengths are provided. Interpretation focuses on taphonomy, relative importance…
Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values in freshwater, brackish and marine fish bone collagen from Mesolithic and Neolithic sites in central and northern Europe
The aim of this research is to examine the isotopic characterisation of archaeological fish species as it relates to freshwater, brackish and marine environments, trophic level and migration patterns, and to determine intraspecies variation within and between fish populations in different locations within central and northern Europe. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis was undertaken on collagen extracted from 72 fish bone samples from ei…
Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values in freshwater, brackish and marine fish bone collagen from Mesolithic and Neolithic sites in central and northern Europe
The aim of this research is to examine the isotopic characterisation of archaeological fish species as it relates to freshwater, brackish and marine environments, trophic level and migration patterns, and to determine intraspecies variation within and between fish populations in different locations within central and northern Europe. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis was undertaken on collagen extracted from 72 fish bone samples from ei…
Scales of analysis
A Unique Engraved Shale Pendant from the Site of Star Carr
In 2015 an engraved shale pendant was found during excavations at the Early Mesolithic site of Star Carr, UK. Engraved motifs on Mesolithic pendants are extremely rare, with the exception of amber pendants from southern Scandinavia. The artwork on the pendant is the earliest known Mesolithic art in Britain; the 'barbed line' motif is comparable to styles on the Continent, particularly in Denmark. When it was first uncovered the lines were barely …
The Ertebølle Zooarchaeological Dataset from Southern Scandinavia
Interdisciplinary archaeological research in southern Scandinavia has a very long history of practice, starting in the mid-19th Century and continuing to the present. In particular, research concerning the late Mesolithic hunter-gatherer-fisher Ertebølle culture (5400-3950 cal BC) has resulted in a large zooarchaeological dataset potentially useable in large-scale comparative, or meta-analyses. In this paper, we review this dataset, and the quant…
The application of micro-Raman for the analysis of ochre artefacts from Mesolithic palaeo-lake Flixton
The Corded Ware culture in the Eastern Baltic
Fish and fishing communities
The papers in this special issue of the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology (IJO) were presented at the 19th biennial meeting of the Fish Remains Working Group (FRWG) of the International Council for Archaeozoology (ICAZ), which was held in Alghero and Stintino, Sardinia, Italy, from October 1–7, 2017. Entitled Fish and Fishing Communities: Understanding Ancient and Modern Fisheries through Archaeological Fish Remains, this conference broug…
Annual Growth Patterns and Interspecimen Variability in Mg/Ca Records of Archaeological Ostrea edulis (European Oyster) from the Late Mesolithic Site of Conors Island
Annual growth patterns in marine mollusc shells are valuable indicators of the condition of marine ecology through time. In archaeological contexts, the mollusc’s time of death (i.e. the last season of growth) is an indicator of human exploitation patterns throughout the year, enabling the reconstruction of when and how often gathering occurred as well as when sites were occupied. Both pieces of information, growth rate and season of death, are v…
The early settlement of Northern Europe
This three-volume publication presents an up-to-date overview on the human colonisation of Northern Europe across the Pleistocene–Holocene transition in Scandinavia, the Eastern Baltic and Great Britain. Volume 1, Ecology of early settlement in Northern Europe , is a collection of 17 articles focusing on subsistence strategies and technologies, ecology and resource availability and demography in relation to different ecological niches. It is stru…
Diet, cuisine and consumption practices of the first farmers in the southeastern Baltic
With the arrival of the Early Neolithic Globular Amphora and Corded Ware cultures into the southeastern Baltic, ca. 2900/2800-2400 cal BC, a new type of economy was introduced, animal husbandry. However, the degree to which this transformed the subsistence economy is unknown. Here, we conducted organic residue analyses of 64 ceramic vessels to identify their contents. The vessels were sampled from 10 Lithuanian archaeological sites dating across …
Understanding the bone and antler assemblages from Star Carr
The Early Mesolithic fisheries of southern Scandinavia
Southern Scandinavian Mesolithic research has one of the longest traditions within archaeology, dating back to the 1820s and 1830s. However, a combination of site visibility and an emphasis on the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition has meant that research has primarily been directed towards the Late Mesolithic Erteblle culture (c. 5400-4000 cal. BC) at the expense of the Early Mesolithic Maglemose culture (c. 9600-6400 cal. BC). Whilst fishing durin…
Fishers of The Corded Ware Culture in The Eastern Baltic
Between 2800 and 2400 cal BC pastoralists from Central Europe migrated into the eastern Baltic paving the way for the Corded Ware Culture (CWC), and a new type of economy, animal husbandry. Traditionally the CWC people were viewed as highly mobile due to the lack of substantial traces of dwellings and material culture at settlement sites; they were reliant on an economy based on animal husbandry as demonstrated by zooarchaeological and stable iso…
Walnuts, salmon and sika deer
The earliest evidence for crop cultivation during the Early Bronze Age in the southeastern Baltic
Organic residue analysis of Early Neolithic ‘bog pots’ from Denmark demonstrates the processing of wild and domestic foodstuffs
Light Production by Ceramic Using Hunter-Gatherer-Fishers of the Circum-Baltic
Artificial illumination is a fundamental human need. Burning wood and other materials usually in hearths and fireplaces extended daylight hours, whilst the use of flammable substances in torches offered light on the move. It is increasingly understood that pottery played a role in light production. In this study, we focus on ceramic oval bowls, made and used primarily by hunter-gatherer-fishers of the circum-Baltic over a c. 2000 year period begi…
The transmission of pottery technology among prehistoric European hunter-gatherers
Human history has been shaped by global dispersals of technologies, although understanding of what enabled these processes is limited. Here, we explore the behavioural mechanisms that led to the emergence of pottery among hunter-gatherer communities in Europe during the mid-Holocene. Through radiocarbon dating, we propose this dispersal occurred at a far faster rate than previously thought. Chemical characterization of organic residues shows that…
Fishing Over the Millennia
Strontium isotope analysis reveals prehistoric mobility patterns in the southeastern Baltic area
Garnys
The Globular Amphora Culture in the Eastern Baltic
Until now, Šventoji in northwest Lithuania was considered the most northern site of the Neolithic Globular Amphora Culture (hereafter GAC ; ca. 3400–2500 cal BC ) in Europe. Recently, however, ceramics typologically resembling GAC ware were identified among the materials from the multi-period sites of Abora 1 and Iča in Latvia and further to the north from Tamula in southeast Estonia. Here we present the multi-disciplinary analyses of these ceram…
Geography (29 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (27 works) · Archaeology (26 works) · Biology (24 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (16 works) · Mesolithic (13 works) · Ecology (11 works) · Fishery (11 works) · Prehistory (11 works) · Isotope Analysis in Ecology (10 works)