Archaeologists Found 11,500-Year-Old Tools That Reveal an Incredible Human Adventure
The tools could be evidence of the earliest human settlement in Scotland.
Nomads likely crossed into the Isle of Skye via Doggerland—an area that is now covered by the North Sea.
Humans love convenience, and that's a love as old as time (well, maybe that's a stretch).
The oldest tools discovered thus far date back to our early ancestors, around 2.6 million years ago. While these tools were rudimentary (often unaltered sticks and rocks found on the ground), they played a key part in the broader story of human evolution. Not only were they helpful to the early humans who used them back then, but early tools like these also serve as valuable clues for scientists today.
Case in point, a research team just found tools on the Isle of Skye which shed light on Scotland's oldest inhabitants. Researchers dated these new-found Scottish tools back to between 11,500 and 11,000 years ago, during what is called the Late Upper Paleolithic. The 'Upper' part of the Paleolithic Period is a subdivision marked by the development of more advanced tools. The discoveries mean the west coast of Scotland now represents the largest concentration of evidence proving the early presence of people in the area, according to a press release.
The team consisted of researchers from universities of Leeds, Sheffield, Leeds Beckett, and Flinders in Australia. Together, they worked to reconstruct the landscape and changing sea levels of the time. They determined that nomads likely crossed into Skye when much of western Scotland was buried under ice after the Younger Dryas—a sudden cooling period that froze much of the Northern Hemisphere. Researchers theorize that the pioneers crossed via Doggerland, which is now covered by the North Sea.
According to Karen Hardy, leader of the team, the nomads' journey to the Isle of Skye was the 'ultimate adventure story.' She explained in the release that as they followed animal herds northward and entered Scotland, the landscape changed to one that was icy and treacherous.
'A good example of the volatility they would have encountered can be found in Glen Roy,' Hardy said in the press release, 'where the world-famous Parallel Roads provide physical testament to the huge landscape changes and cataclysmic floods that they would have encountered, as they travelled across Scotland.'
Once in Scotland, the pioneers had to adapt to live among the melting glaciers, oceans, and mountains—conditions that were shockingly different from their former homelands in the northwestern Great European Plains. Hardy believes the settlers strategically chose where to base themselves to best access coastal and riverine resources. They also began to value ochre—a pigment that was important to ancient cultures.
Although the exact terrains the nomads crossed can no longer be visited, they can be imagined at places like Sconcer, a township on the same island where the tools were discovered. Needless to say, these findings were crucial in advancing knowledge of ancient Scotland.
'This is a hugely significant discovery which offers a new perspective on the earliest human occupation yet known, of north-west Scotland,' Hardy said.
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Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Los Angeles Times
Science and local sleuthing identify a 250-year-old shipwreck on a Scottish island
LONDON — When a student going for a run on the beach found the ribs of a wooden ship poking through the dunes on a Scottish island, it sparked a hunt by archaeologists, scientists and local historians to uncover its story. Through a mix of high-tech science and community research, they have an answer. Researchers announced Wednesday that the vessel is very likely the Earl of Chatham, an 18th-century warship that saw action in the American War of Independence before a second life hunting whales in the Arctic — and then a stormy demise. 'I would regard it as a lucky ship, which is a strange thing to say about a ship that's wrecked,' said Ben Saunders, senior marine archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology, a charity that helped community researchers conduct the investigation. 'I think if it had been found in many other places, it wouldn't necessarily have had that community drive, that desire to recover and study that material, and also the community spirit to do it,' Saunders said. The wreck was discovered in February 2024 after a storm swept away sand covering it on Sanday, one of the rugged Orkney Islands that lie off Scotland's northern tip. It excited interest on the island of 500 people, whose history is bound up with the sea and its dangers. Around 270 shipwrecks have been recorded around the 20-square-mile (50-square-kilometer) island since the 15th century. Local farmers used their tractors and trailers to haul the 12 tons of oak timbers off the beach, before local researchers set to work trying to identify it. 'That was really good fun, and it was such a good feeling about the community — everybody pulling together to get it back,' said Sylvia Thorne, one of the island's community researchers. 'Quite a few people are really getting interested in it and becoming experts.' Dendrochronology — the science of dating wood from tree rings — showed the timber came from southern England in the middle of the 18th century. That was one bit of luck, Saunders said, because it coincides with 'the point where British bureaucracy's really starting to kick off' and detailed records were being kept. 'And so we can then start to look at the archive evidence that we have for the wrecks in Orkney,' Saunders said. 'It becomes a process of elimination. 'You remove ones that are Northern European as opposed to British, you remove wrecks that are too small or operating out of the north of England and you really are down to two or three … and Earl of Chatham is the last one left.' Further research found that before it was the Earl of Chatham, the ship was HMS Hind, a 24-gun Royal Navy frigate built in Chichester on England's south coast in 1749. Its military career saw it play a part in the expansion — and contraction — of the British Empire. It helped Britain wrest control of Canada from France during the sieges of Louisbourg and Quebec in the 1750s, and in the 1770s served as a convoy escort during Britain's failed effort to hold onto its American colonies. Sold off by the navy in 1784 and renamed, the vessel became a whaling ship, hunting the huge mammals in the Arctic waters off Greenland. Whale oil was an essential fuel of the Industrial Revolution, used to lubricate machinery, soften fabric and light city streets. Saunders said that in 1787 there were 120 London-based whaling ships in the Greenland Sea, the Earl of Chatham among them. A year later, while heading out to the whaling ground, it was wrecked in bad weather off Sanday. All 56 crew members survived — more evidence, Saunders says, that this was a vessel blessed with luck. The ship's timbers are being preserved in a freshwater tank at the Sanday Heritage Centre while plans are discussed to put it on permanent display. Saunders said that the project is a model of community involvement in archaeology. 'The community have been so keen, have been so desirous to be involved and to find out things to learn, and they're so proud of it. It's down to them it was discovered, it's down to them it was recovered and it's been stabilized and been protected,' he said. For locals, it's a link to the island's maritime past — and future. Finding long-buried wrecks could become more common as climate change alters the wind patterns around Britain and reshapes the coastline. 'One of the biggest things I've got out of this project is realizing how much the past in Sanday is just constantly with you — either visible or just under the surface,' said Ruth Peace, another community researcher. Lawless writes for the Associated Press.
2 days ago
250-year-old shipwreck discovered on Scottish island
LONDON -- When a schoolboy going for a run found the ribs of a wooden ship poking through the dunes of a remote Scottish beach, it sparked a hunt by archaeologists, scientists and local historians to uncover its story. Through a mix of high-tech science and community research, they have an answer. Researchers announced Wednesday that the vessel is very likely the Earl of Chatham, an 18th-century warship that saw action in the American War of Independence before a second life hunting whales in the Arctic — and then a stormy demise. 'I would regard it as a lucky ship, which is a strange thing to say about a ship that's wrecked,' said Ben Saunders, senior marine archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology, a charity that helped community researchers conduct the investigation. 'I think if it had been found in many other places, it wouldn't necessarily have had that community drive, that desire to recover and study that material, and also the community spirit to do it,' Saunders said. The wreck was discovered in February 2024 after a storm swept away sand covering it on Sanday, one of the rugged Orkney Islands that lie off Scotland's northern tip. It excited interest on the island of 500 people, whose history is bound up with the sea and its dangers. Around 270 shipwrecks have been recorded around the 20-square-mile (50-square-kilometer) island since the 15th century. Local farmers used their tractors and trailers to haul the 12 tons of oak timbers off the beach, before local researchers set to work trying to identify it. 'That was really good fun, and it was such a good feeling about the community – everybody pulling together to get it back,' said Sylvia Thorne, one of the island's community researchers. 'Quite a few people are really getting interested in it and becoming experts.' Dendrochronology — the science of dating wood from tree rings — showed the timber came from southern England in the middle of the 18th century. That was one bit of luck, Saunders said, because it coincides with 'the point where British bureaucracy's really starting to kick off' and detailed records were being kept. 'And so we can then start to look at the archive evidence that we have for the wrecks in Orkney,' Saunders said. 'It becomes a process of elimination. 'You remove ones that are Northern European as opposed to British, you remove wrecks that are too small or operating out of the north of England and you really are down to two or three … and Earl of Chatham is the last one left.' Further research found that before it was the Earl of Chatham, the ship was HMS Hind, a 24-gun Royal Navy frigate built in Chichester on England's south coast in 1749. Its military career saw it play a part in the expansion — and contraction — of the British Empire. It helped Britain wrest control of Canada from France during the sieges of Louisbourg and Quebec in the 1750s, and in the 1770s served as a convoy escort during Britain's failed effort to hold onto its American colonies. Sold off by the navy in 1784 and renamed, the vessel became a whaling ship, hunting the huge mammals in the Arctic waters off Greenland. Whale oil was an essential fuel of the Industrial Revolution, used to lubricate machinery, soften fabric and light city streets. Saunders said that in 1787 there were 120 London-based whaling ships in the Greenland Sea, the Earl of Chatham among them. A year later, while heading out to the whaling ground, it was wrecked in bad weather off Sanday. All 56 crew members survived — more evidence, Saunders says, that this was a vessel blessed with luck. The ship's timbers are being preserved in a freshwater tank at the Sanday Heritage Centre while plans are discussed to put it on permanent display. Saunders said that the project is a model of community involvement in archaeology. 'The community have been so keen, have been so desirous to be involved and to find out things to learn, and they're so proud of it. It's down to them it was discovered, it's down to them it was recovered and it's been stabilized and been protected,' he said. For locals, it's a link to the island's maritime past — and future. Finding long-buried wrecks could become more common as climate change alters the wind patterns around Britain and reshapes the coastline. 'One of the biggest things I've got out of this project is realizing how much the past in Sanday is just constantly with you — either visible or just under the surface,' said Ruth Peace, another community researcher.
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Science and local sleuthing identify a 250-year-old shipwreck on a Scottish island
LONDON — When a schoolboy going for a run found the ribs of a wooden ship poking through the dunes of a remote Scottish beach, it sparked a hunt by archaeologists, scientists and local historians to uncover its story. Through a mix of high-tech science and community research, they have an answer. Researchers announced Wednesday that the vessel is very likely the Earl of Chatham, an 18th-century warship that saw action in the American War of Independence before a second life hunting whales in the Arctic — and then a stormy demise. 'I would regard it as a lucky ship, which is a strange thing to say about a ship that's wrecked,' said Ben Saunders, senior marine archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology, a charity that helped community researchers conduct the investigation. 'I think if it had been found in many other places, it wouldn't necessarily have had that community drive, that desire to recover and study that material, and also the community spirit to do it,' Saunders said. The wreck was discovered in February 2024 after a storm swept away sand covering it on Sanday, one of the rugged Orkney Islands that lie off Scotland's northern tip. It excited interest on the island of 500 people, whose history is bound up with the sea and its dangers. Around 270 shipwrecks have been recorded around the 20-square-mile (50-square-kilometer) island since the 15th century. Local farmers used their tractors and trailers to haul the 12 tons of oak timbers off the beach, before local researchers set to work trying to identify it. 'That was really good fun, and it was such a good feeling about the community – everybody pulling together to get it back,' said Sylvia Thorne, one of the island's community researchers. 'Quite a few people are really getting interested in it and becoming experts.' Dendrochronology — the science of dating wood from tree rings — showed the timber came from southern England in the middle of the 18th century. That was one bit of luck, Saunders said, because it coincides with 'the point where British bureaucracy's really starting to kick off' and detailed records were being kept. 'And so we can then start to look at the archive evidence that we have for the wrecks in Orkney,' Saunders said. 'It becomes a process of elimination. 'You remove ones that are Northern European as opposed to British, you remove wrecks that are too small or operating out of the north of England and you really are down to two or three … and Earl of Chatham is the last one left.' Further research found that before it was the Earl of Chatham, the ship was HMS Hind, a 24-gun Royal Navy frigate built in Chichester on England's south coast in 1749. Its military career saw it play a part in the expansion — and contraction — of the British Empire. It helped Britain wrest control of Canada from France during the sieges of Louisbourg and Quebec in the 1750s, and in the 1770s served as a convoy escort during Britain's failed effort to hold onto its American colonies. Sold off by the navy in 1784 and renamed, the vessel became a whaling ship, hunting the huge mammals in the Arctic waters off Greenland. Whale oil was an essential fuel of the Industrial Revolution, used to lubricate machinery, soften fabric and light city streets. Saunders said that in 1787 there were 120 London-based whaling ships in the Greenland Sea, the Earl of Chatham among them. A year later, while heading out to the whaling ground, it was wrecked in bad weather off Sanday. All 56 crew members survived — more evidence, Saunders says, that this was a vessel blessed with luck. The ship's timbers are being preserved in a freshwater tank at the Sanday Heritage Centre while plans are discussed to put it on permanent display. Saunders said that the project is a model of community involvement in archaeology. 'The community have been so keen, have been so desirous to be involved and to find out things to learn, and they're so proud of it. It's down to them it was discovered, it's down to them it was recovered and it's been stabilized and been protected,' he said. For locals, it's a link to the island's maritime past — and future. Finding long-buried wrecks could become more common as climate change alters the wind patterns around Britain and reshapes the coastline. 'One of the biggest things I've got out of this project is realizing how much the past in Sanday is just constantly with you — either visible or just under the surface,' said Ruth Peace, another community researcher.
