Late Stone Age hunters of the British Isles /

The British Isles were occupied by varieties of early humans at intervals between roughly 500,000 and 18,000 years ago, but only after about 13,000 years ago was human presence continuous. Smith attempts here to document the first 8,000 years of this occupation, covering some 3,000 years of the Late Paleolithic and the whole of the Mesolithic. During both of these intervals, humans were hunters (and fishers) as well as collectors of a variety of animal and plant foods. The former phase was dominated by a glacial climate and large herd animals, while the rapid deglaciation and more equable forested environments of the latter phase led to a broadening of human adaptation and, especially, the greater use of coastal resources. Smith concentrates on the paleoecology of these early Britons, rather than on the history of their changing tool-kits. By way of background, he surveys modern hunter-gatherers and the types of archeological remains they might leave, as well as the environments and fauna of the interval (although ethnoarcheology and taphonomy are rarely invoked). Three chapters provide a dozen case studies of well-documented sites in tundra, woodland, and coastal situations, and a final chapter surveys the results but does not summarize as clearly as might be wished. Each chapter concludes with suggestions for further reading, and although the book is quite technical, Smith has made it accessible (and interesting) to students and nonarcheologcal professionals. Advanced undergraduate through faculty. E. Delson; Herbert H. Lehman College, CUNY