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我们过去从狩猎和采集野生动植物向农业生活方式转变的时期。这一变化发生在不同的时间，以不同的方式发生在世界各地，大约从公元前10,000年左右在中东开始，大约在公元前4,000年左右在英国和爱尔兰开始。新石器时代到达英国和爱尔兰的过程目前是一个激烈辩论的话题。一些学者认为，殖民者从欧洲大陆大规模迁徙(从法国和/或比利时带来农业、陶器等)，但另一些学者认为，英国原住民逐渐按照自己的方式采用农业生活方式(可能是因为他们的世界观发生了广泛的转变)。达成的共识是，英国、爱尔兰和欧洲大陆之间的一些接触必须发生在公元前4000年左右，才能真正发生变化，而且这种变化最有可能发生在“西方航道”上--一条弧形的海洋，大约从南部的海峡群岛延伸到北部的希利岛、马恩岛和赫布里底群岛，一直延伸到北部的奥克尼。目的和目标踏石项目将英国周围的岛屿牢牢地置于这场关键的当代考古辩论的中心。该项目认为，详细了解这一重要接触区内的中石器时代晚期和新石器时代早期的活动，有可能对我们理解过渡过程作出重要贡献，无论是在西部航道内还是在两侧。我们的中心研究问题是：-新石器时代什么时候到达西部海域内的每个岛群？-每个岛群上最早的新石器时代证据是什么？外国文物的存在是否暗示着来自大陆的殖民者的到来？-这一时期的海洋是什么样子的，任何变化是如何影响航海实践的？为了回答这些问题，我们将：-创建一个新的数据库，其中包括西部航道带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)--在三个不同的岛群中各挖掘一个遗址，以找到目前知之甚少的新证据--开展一个主要的放射性碳计划，确定每个岛群新石器时代到来的日期--进行一个新的海洋模拟计划，为了确定海洋的实际位置，以及在公元前5000到3500之间横渡大海会是什么样子，我们认为该项目造福于学术界和更广泛的公众是至关重要的。我们将通过一系列期刊论文发表我们的学术成果，还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(最终将出版一本相同主题的编辑书籍)。我们亦会把研究结果发放给公营机构，以确保他们日后在草拟保护海岸遗址的政策文件时，可以利用这些研究结果。为了确保广大市民能尽量了解这项工程计划，我们会在进行发掘工作时，举办多项外展活动(开放日、公众讲座、博物馆展览等)。我们还将开发一系列与该项目研究直接相关的教育网络资源。其中包括：-一个以通俗易懂的语言展示项目结果的网站--一个旨在让儿童(和其他人)从一个有趣的角度了解史前航海的‘西方航道’导航游戏--一个谷歌地球‘插件’，使用户能够想象过去海平面的变化，为现代和未来的环境变化提供一个重要的深层背景。

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.