Stepping stones to the Neolithic? Islands, maritime connectivity and the 'western seaways' of Britain, 5000-3500 BC

研究背景新石器时代是指人类从狩猎和采集野生动植物向农耕生活方式转变的时期。这种变化在世界各地以不同的方式在不同的时间发生，始于公元前10000年左右的中东，始于公元前4000年左右的英国和爱尔兰。新石器时代到达英国和爱尔兰的过程目前是一个热议的话题。一些学者认为，殖民者是从欧洲大陆大批迁移过来的（从法国和/或比利时带来了农业、陶器等），但另一些人则认为，英国的土著居民逐渐按照自己的方式接受了农业生活方式（可能是他们世界观广泛转变的结果）。人们一致认为，不列颠、爱尔兰和欧洲大陆之间的一些联系必须发生在公元前4000年左右的几个世纪里，这种变化才会发生，而且这种联系最有可能发生在“西部航道”上——这是一个弧形的海域，大约从南部的海峡群岛开始，经过锡利群岛、马恩岛和赫布里底群岛，再绕到北部的奥克尼岛。目的和目标铺路石项目将英国周围的岛屿牢牢地置于当代考古争论的中心。该项目认为，对这一重要接触区域内中石器时代晚期和新石器时代早期活动的详细了解，有可能对我们理解西部航道内和两侧的过渡过程做出重要贡献。我们的核心研究问题是：新石器时代是什么时候到达西部沿海地区的每个岛屿群的？-每个岛群上最早的新石器时代证据是什么？“外国”文物的出现是否暗示着大陆殖民者的到来？-这段时期的海洋是什么样子？这些变化对航海活动有何影响？为了回答这些问题，我们将：-为西部航道区内所有已知的中石器时代晚期和新石器时代早期遗址（以及相关的放射性碳年代测定）建立一个新的数据库-在三个不同的岛群各发掘一个遗址，在目前所知很少的地方寻找新的证据-开展一项重大的放射性碳年代测定方案，确定新石器时代到达每个岛群的时间-开展一项新的海洋学模拟方案，以便确定海洋的实际位置；以及在5000到3500英里之间航行会是什么样子的应用程序和收益我们认为对这个项目来说，使学术界和更广泛的公众受益是至关重要的。我们将通过一系列期刊论文发表我们的学术成果，并将举行一次关于英国、爱尔兰和欧洲大陆之间史前联系的国际会议（导致一本关于同一主题的编辑书籍）。我们亦会将研究结果分发给公营机构，以确保他们日后在草拟保护海岸遗址的政策文件时，能够使用这些研究结果。为了确保更多的公众能够尽可能地了解这个项目，我们将在挖掘的同时举办一些外联活动（开放日、公开讲座、博物馆展览等）。我们还将开发一系列与该项目的研究直接相关的教育网络资源。这些将包括：-一个网站，用通俗易懂的语言列出项目的结果-一个“西部航道”导航游戏，旨在给孩子们（和其他人）一个有趣的史前航海角度-一个谷歌地球“插件”，使用户能够可视化过去海平面的变化，为现代和未来的环境变化提供重要的深时间背景。

Research contextThe Neolithic is the term used for the period in our past when the shift from hunting and gathering wild animals and plants to a farming lifestyle occurred. This change happened at different times and in different ways throughout the world, beginning around 10,000 BC in the Middle East and around 4,000 BC in Britain and Ireland. The process by which the Neolithic arrived in Britain and Ireland is currently a hotly debated topic. Some scholars argue that colonists moved wholesale from the continent (bringing farming, pottery, etc. with them from France and/or Belgium), but others have suggested that the indigenous population of Britain gradually adopted the farming lifestyle on their own terms (possibly as a result of a broad shift in their worldview). What is agreed is that some contact between Britain, Ireland and the European mainland must have occurred in the centuries around 4000 BC for the change to happen at all, and that this most likely happened across the 'western seaways' - an arc of sea extending approximately from the Channel Islands in the south, through the Isles of Scilly, the Isle of Man and the Hebrides, around to Orkney in the north.Aims and objectivesThe Stepping Stones project places the islands around Britain firmly at the centre of this key contemporary archaeological debate. This project contends that a detailed understanding of Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic activity within this important zone of contact has the potential to make a crucial contribution to our understanding of the processes of transition, both within the western seaways and on either side. Our central research questions are:- When did the Neolithic arrive on each island group within the western seaways? - What is the earliest Neolithic evidence on each island group? Does the presence of 'foreign' artefacts suggest the arrival of colonists from the Continent?- What was the sea like during this period, and how did any changes affect seafaring practices?In order to answer these questions, we will: - Create a new database of all known Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic sites (and associated radiocarbon dates) within the western seaways zone- Excavate one site on each of three different island groups, to find new evidence where very little is currently known - Carry out a major programme of radiocarbon dating to date the arrival of the Neolithic on each island group - Undertake a new programme of oceanographic modelling, in order to establish where the sea actually was, and what sailing across it would have been like, between 5000 and 3500 BCApplications and benefitsWe feel that it is vital for the project to benefit both the academic community and the wider public. We will publish our academic results via a series of journal papers, and will also hold an international conference about prehistoric connections between Britain, Ireland and the Continent (leading to an edited book on the same theme). We will also disseminate our findings to public sector bodies in order to ensure that they are able to use them when drafting policy documents designed to safeguard coastal sites in future.In order to ensure that the wider public are able to find out as much as possible about the project, we will hold a number of outreach events to coincide with our excavations (open days, public lectures, museum displays, etc.). We will also develop a series of educational web resources linked directly to the project's research. These will include:- A website, setting out the project's results in accessible language- A 'western seaways' navigation game, designed to give children (and others) a fun angle on prehistoric seafaring- A Google Earth 'plugin', enabling users to visualise changing sea levels in the past, providing an important deep-time context for modern andfuture environmental change.