Palimpsests of memory and the significance of place in Middle Palaeolithic occupations
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2019-02-01

Full title: Beyond the Functional: Palimpsests of memory and the significance of place in Middle Palaeolithic occupations 

Middle Palaeolithic occupations are often only evaluated with regard to their functional purpose; discussions focus on the subsistence activities performed by a hominin group at the site. However, a more in-depth study into the behaviour at Middle Palaeolithic sites can reveal intricacies regarding the societies that once inhabited the site. Both intrasite patterns and palimpsests contain information about the socio-cultural behaviours of Middle Palaeolithic hominins. Intrasite patterns reflect behaviours ‘frozen in time’; one can observe the patterns of a group’s most intimate behaviour, from their sleeping areas to intragroup social relations. Consequently, hominins repeatedly returning to sites over thousands of years would have encountered the behaviours of their ancestors. Palimpsests will therefore reflect not only the repetition of group behaviours, but also hominins interand re-acting to their ancestors’ behaviours. This research aims to unlock these palimpsests of memory to provide an insight into the significance of place in the Middle Palaeolithic and reveal information regarding sociocultural behaviours within Neanderthal occupations. 

Isobel Wisher (University of York)