South Cuidrach
A new Late Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic site on the Isle of Skye, western Scotland
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11010035 |
|---|---|
| Authors | K Hardy (0000-0003-1127-2397, University of Glasgow, corresponding author), Torben Bjarke Ballin, Torben Ballin |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 153 |
| Publication date | 2024-04-05 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0081-1564 • E-ISSN: 2056-743X |
| Publisher | Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.9750/psas.153.1367 |
| OpenAlex | W4391473309 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 22 |
A new site in north Skye has revealed evidence of human occupation from the Late Upper Palaeolithic as well as the Early and Late Mesolithic periods, suggesting repeated visits by humans for at least 5,000 years from the Late Glacial Interstadial through the Loch Lomond Readvance and up to the mid-Holocene, a time of dynamic climatic and sea-level change. South Cuidrach is one of several sites in the north of the Isle of Skye and around the Inner Sound with lithic (stone tool) evidence diagnostic of a human presence before the mid-Holocene. These sites currently represent a unique concentration of pre-Late Mesolithic sites in Scotland. The lithic evidence which forms the backbone of the cultural and temporal characterisation of the site at South Cuidrach is outlined here. This includes characteristic points and microliths, burins, cores and other items diagnostic of specific cultural groups. Additionally, it has become evident that Rum bloodstone, a raw material well known from the Late Mesolithic period in the region, may be absent before the Early/Late Mesolithic transition, with baked mudstone from Staffin in North Skye being the primary raw material used before this time. The need for detailed knowledge of the region’s lithic technology and typology is well illustrated here, as small details frequently reflect important chronological differences
Archaeology · Geography · Glacial period · Holocene · Lithic technology · Mesolithic · Period (music · Physical geography · Stadial · Typology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Geology · Historical Studies of British Isles · Paleontology · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
Rapidly changing worlds. Finding the earliest human occupations on Scotland's north-west coastline
Scottish Gravers of Flint and Other Stones
Glenbatrick waterhole, a microlithic site on the Isle of Jura
Unrecorded Microliths from Tentsmuir, Deeside, and Culbin
Mesolithic Implements from Ayrshire
Sources of flint and chert in northern Britain
The Early Settlement of Scotland
Lost and found twice
The Late Upper Palaeolithic Lithic Collection from Gough's Cave, Cheddar, Somerset and Human Use of the cave
Upper Palaeolithic evidence from Kilmelfort Cave, Argyll
A tanged point and two blade technologies from Rubha Port an t-Seilich, Isle of Islay, western Scotland
An ahrensburgian‐type tanged point from shieldaig, wester ross, scotland, and its implications
The Resettlement of the British Landscape
Stone tools from a washing-limit deposit of the highest Post-Glacial transgression, Lealt Bay, Isle of Jura
A regression-time stone-workers' camp, 33ft OD, Lussa River, Isle of Jura
Flint tools from the present tidal zone, Lussa Bay, Isle of Jura, Argyll
Lussa Wood 1
| Highly cited | No |
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