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Evidence uncovered that Stone Age man lived in the Cairngorms


By Mike Merritt

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Today's visitors are drawn in their hordes to the Cairngorms and the stunning vistas from their peaks.

But it appears Scotland's early mountain people were doing the same thing nearly 10,000 years ago.

New research has uncovered rare evidence of people living in Scotland's mountains after the end of the last Ice Age.

Archaeologists found stone tools and traces of firepits and possible shelters in Deeside in the Cairngorms.

Rare evidence has been found in the Cairngorms of man's early occupation of the range.
Rare evidence has been found in the Cairngorms of man's early occupation of the range.

Finds from the Mesolithic period, also known as the Middle Stone Age, are rare and usually made in lowland areas.

Archaeologists describe the evidence in the Cairngorms as "exciting".

The research, published in the Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, adds to existing evidence from a handful of other upland sites.

These include on the mountain Ben Lawers in Perthshire and at locations in Lanarkshire and Dumfries.

Evidence for those who lived in Scotland after the end of the last Ice Age can be hard to find, say archaeologists.

The population at the time was low and the communities of hunter-gatherers were "mobile, moving around and living off the land".

They did not build permanent monuments and their homes were usually temporary.

What traces of their lives that can be found often amounts to a handful of tiny stone tools, such as flints, and discoloured soil "that hint at an ancient hearth or the stance of a shelter".

Because this evidence has long been buried over time, the "easiest" locations for archaeologists to search are along sea-eroded coastlines or on farmland where farm work can bring buried the evidence closer to the surface.

While archaeologists have long suspected Mesolithic communities occupied mountain landscapes, little evidence to support that has been discovered.

Now a team made up of students from the universities of Aberdeen and Dublin has uncovered evidence confirming people were living in the Cairngorms from as early as 7500 BC.

The team's finds at several archaeological sites - including traces of firepits, flints and possible huts - were made on land owned by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS).

Archaeologists believe Mesolithic people headed into the hills carrying their own provisions which they later supplemented by hunting deer, fish and birds and foraging for plants and fungi.

Red deer skins would have been used by the people to keep warm.
Red deer skins would have been used by the people to keep warm.

Larger mammals, such as deer, also provided them with skins for use in clothing and shelters, sinews for bindings and antler and bone for use in making tools.

NTS and Aberdeenshire Council were among the organisations that supported the new research.

Further investigations are planned for this summer, if allowed under Scottish government Covid-19 rules.

The paper says: "Despite a previous paucity of evidence, it is clear that hunting and gathering communities were familiar inhabitants of the Cairngorm landscapes from the 9th millennium BC, and that their lifestyle here was extensive, diverse, intense, and over considerable time depth.

"Undoubtedly many more sites remain to be discovered and their contribution to archaeology will be significant.

"Expansion of our recognition of the Mesolithic record into the uplands offers clear archaeological benefits including a more comprehensive understanding of Mesolithic lifeways.

"Although archaeological material is harder to locate in the uplands, these locations hold considerable interpretive potential.

"Exploring that potential is methodologically challenging. With regard to the specific case explored here, over 200 km of footpaths cross the Mar Lodge Estate and the areas where erosion extends into sub-peat levels, with the potential to reveal evidence for early human activity, are scattered and generally small scale.

"While natural erosion provides further opportunities for discovery elsewhere, particularly along watercourses, our research suggests that active monitoring and prospection is necessary to highlight the opportunities to encounter new sites.

"There is a pressing need for fieldwork to locate and examine sites across the Scottish uplands, particularly in the context of landscape-scale management practices."

Source: New Evidence for Upland Occupation in the Mesolithic of Scotland: C.R. Wickham-Jones, G. Noble, S.M. Fraser, G. Warren, R. Tipping, D. Paterson,W. Mitchell,D. Hamilton and A. Clarke


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