Edwards, K. J., Whittington, G. and Ritchie, W. (2005). The possible role of humans in the early stages of machair evolution:. J Archaeol Sci 32 (3). Vol 32(3), pp. 435-449.
 Title The title of the publication or report |
The possible role of humans in the early stages of machair evolution: | ||||||
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Subtitle The sub title of the publication or report |
palaeoenvironmental investigations in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland | ||||||
Issue The name of the volume or issue |
J Archaeol Sci 32 (3) | ||||||
Series The series the publication or report is included in |
Journal of Archaeological Science | ||||||
Volume Volume number and part |
32 (3) | ||||||
Page Start/End The start and end page numbers. |
435 - 449 | ||||||
Biblio Note This is a Bibliographic record only. |
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Publication Type The type of publication - report, monograph, journal article or chapter from a book |
Journal | ||||||
Abstract The abstract describing the content of the publication or report |
Low altitude sandy plains (machair) are a distinctive feature of the Atlantic coasts of the Scottish Outer Hebrides. They formed as a result of shoreward movement of sediment consequent upon a rise in Holocene sea levels. During the long period over which machair has been forming, the earliest date proposed for their human occupation is the Neolithic. The natural origins of the machair are not disputed, but examination of deposits at sites in the islands of Benbecula and Grimsay encourages the authors to advance a possible anthropogenic role in the process of machair development, and also to suggest that human involvement may date from the Mesolithic period (pre-5000 BP [ca. 5730 cal BP]), a time for which archaeological evidence is lacking from the Outer Hebrides. They also argue that the presence of charcoal might suggest that burning of the vegetation cover of the machair was an additional factor to the supposedly dominant marine and aeolian processes in sand mobility, and that removal of shrub vegetation may also have left sand surfaces open to deflation. There remains a difficulty in separating natural from human causes in investigations of long-term coastal evolution. | ||||||
Year of Publication The year the book, article or report was published |
2005 | ||||||
Locations Any locations covered by the publication or report. This is not the place the book or report was published. |
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Source Where the record has come from or which dataset it was orginally included in. |
BIAB
(The British & Irish Archaeological Bibliography (BIAB))
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Relations Other resources which are relevant to this publication or report |
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Created Date The date the record of the pubication was first entered |
27 Jun 2005 |
