bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Atlantic Coast (Western France, Northern Spain, and Portugal)
Authors: Araújo Ana Cristina , Marchand Grégor 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
The archaeological record accumulated during the time-span that separates the last hunter-gatherer societies of the final Upper Palaeolithic and the first agro pastoral communities of the early Neolithic on the Atlantic coast of Europe is characterized by shell middens scattered along the coasts of Portugal, northern Spain, and western France. The large-scale exploitation of marine resources, especially mollusks, is one of the most distinctive traits of the Mesolithic. These hunter-gatherer-fisher societies also exploited the inland landscapes and resources, creating sheltered and open-air sites, some with dwellings. Hunting was the main activity developed at these locations. During the nearly five millennia of Mesolithic lifestyle, important changes occur, although with specificities according to the geographical areas: human groups become less itinerant, more gregarious and the first cemeteries appear in the same places occupied by the living, explaining the emergence of long-term settlements. The Mesolithic technology carries forward know-how and skills from their Upper Palaeolithic ancestors, but it is also innovative, creating less time-consuming lithic solutions. The production of small and standardized geometric shapes (triangles, trapezes, and crescents) is a further defining feature of the Mesolithic technology. These microliths were embedded in wooden or bone/antler handles, forming different composite-tools used for multiple tasks, from hunting weapons to knives. These ways of life established on the maritime coast from France to Portugal offered enough resilience to provide an alternative to agro-pastoral economies from the middle of the sixth millennium until the beginning of the fourth millennium, with long-term coexistences between these societies.
The Eastern Mediterranean
Authors: Galanidou Nena , Vukosavljević Nikola , Perlès Catherine 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
The chapter offers a succinct account of the Mesolithic archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean and identifies patterns of similarity and difference across time and space. This large and heterogenous region combines a rugged and mountainous mainland terrain, an extensive and intricate shoreline, and numerous islands. In the east, the Aegean sites offer more examples of cultural and economic discontinuity from the preceding Upper Palaeolithic period as well as novelty, sharp economic transformations, and an overall acceleration of change compared to the Adriatic-Ionian sites in the west. The Aegean Mesolithic record points to a mosaic of people and lifestyles, partly owing to the increasing, yet intermittent, role of the sea in subsistence, partly to the regional proximity to Anatolia and Near East, and partly to a broken geography. The Eastern Adriatic Early Mesolithic record is marked by continuity rather than change, with only a few scanty signs of difference, while the Late Mesolithic brings significant changes, both in technology and subsistence. The eastern Mediterranean region, as a whole, exhibits spatiotemporal variability in the funerary rituals, economic strategies, and technical traditions of stone and bone tool manufacture that can be best explained by cultural differences. Archaeological finds from ‘hunters in transition’ are visible in the record, alongside finds manifesting continuation of the earlier traditions in technology and subsistence, and finds of newcomers with brand new cultural signatures.
Shell Middens and Shells
Authors: Dupont Catherine , Gutiérrez-Zugasti Igor 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This chapter deals with the variability of anthropogenic shell deposits usually called shell middens and the different uses of molluscs during the Mesolithic in Europe. We present the geographical distribution and environmental setting of these emblematic archaeological sites, as well as their settlement patterns and their roles in symbolic and subsistence systems. The uses by Mesolithic societies of the major component found in the shell middens—i.e. the shells—are addressed. We focus on issues such as the sampling methods, the use of shells as food, ornaments, and tools, and the daily activities related to the exploitation of marine resources, from their collection to their discard. We present the latest methods used in the study of marine molluscs in relation to the main research themes applied to shell middens.
Who Were the Mesolithic People
Authors: Simões Luciana G. , Günther Torsten 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Ancient DNA (aDNA) research opened a direct window into the study of evolutionary history. This cross-disciplinary field, at the intersection of genetics and archaeology, has not only revealed genomic discontinuities and population transformations throughout human prehistory but also helped clarify or reformulate standing hypotheses, previously based solely on archaeological evidence. This chapter provides an overview of the basic genetic concepts underlying aDNA studies and summarizes the unique challenges and opportunities associated with the field of archaeogenomics. This is followed by a summary of the current state of the knowledge regarding the genetic makeup of Mesolithic peoples in Europe, highlighting the four main lines of ancestry found and their geographical distributions, with a special focus on the regional dynamics of the Scandinavian Mesolithic. The chapter also discusses how genomic data can be, and has been used, to study metabolic and physical appearance traits of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Expectedly, future studies incorporating abundant and more representative samples of Mesolithic Europeans, as well as new theoretical and technological approaches, will provide a more detailed picture of the genetic structure and sociocultural aspects of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in Europe.
Sensory Experiences
Authors: Elliott Ben 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Sensory experience has been an underexplored but persistent theme within European Mesolithic research, slowly building momentum within the broader discourse since the turn of the millennium. Critical considerations of inter-visibility (often advanced under the umbrella of phenomenological approaches to the experience of space), the manipulation of colour, and the role of emotion within Mesolithic archaeology have all, to varying extents, promoted an attention to sensory experience within the field. However, barring a few significant exceptions, more focused approaches to sensory experience have been somewhat lacking within Mesolithic archaeology. This is particularly noticeable in the past decade, at a time when ‘sensory archaeologies’ have blossomed more generally within the discipline and have been more extensively explored in relation to other places and periods. The concept of a ‘sensory horizon’ is revisited and developed here as a way to potentially address this. Two case studies are provided which investigate sensory experiences associated with mortuary practice at Skateholm (Sweden) and Hermitage (Ireland) respectively. These acknowledge the lack of familiarity afflicting most archaeological researchers when discussing the ways in which the living experience the dead, and draws on forensic experience and research to examine the specifics of distinct episodes of mortuary practice, whilst attempting to place these within the broader context of lived Mesolithic experience.
Food and Diet
Authors: Eriksson Gunilla , Lidén Kerstin 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Food is at the core of cultural identity, fundamental for survival, yet intrinsically linked to culture. To study activities related to food is, therefore, in effect a way to study cultural practices and cultural differences. This chapter approaches Mesolithic food and diet through the concept of châine opératoire, which is a valuable tool to move beyond simple facts on what foodstuffs were eaten, or what resources were utilized, and instead consider the full spectrum of food practices during the Mesolithic. It is a structured way to describe the mental processes and actions involved in transforming environmental resources into foods, their consumption, and subsequent disposal. These activities require extensive knowledge, technology, and skills, all of which are culturally transmitted. Therefore, they are not only of great archaeological relevance, but they also potentially leave traces in the archaeological record, which can be studied by various approaches. Through a survey of the literature, this chapter provides examples of various Mesolithic food practices throughout Europe, and how these can be detected and interpreted. In addition, it presents a case study of the diverse Mesolithic diets in the Circum-Baltic area as evidenced by stable isotope analysis.
Flint Exchange
Authors: Johanson Kristiina , Werra Dagmara H. , Kriiska Aivar , Mangado Llach Javier 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Using three case studies, this chapter attempts to summarize the essence and nature of flint exchange in Mesolithic Europe. It seeks to understand the possible ways of differentiating between the acts of direct procurement and exchange of flint in the archaeological material. For that, it considers the distances between raw material sources and sites (the model of effective distance), the changing value ascribed to specific raw materials, and the hybrid motivations for flint travel. Considering the procurement costs and distances as well as value of different flints, economic, social, and symbolic motivations for flint procurement are discussed. The conclusion is reached that flint procurement strategies are often multifaceted with economic, social, and symbolic motivations intertwined in single acts. Although a general regionalization is seen since the Early Mesolithic in Europe, long-distance networking still exists, with flint exchange being part of that, demonstrating the social nature of flint.
Exchange of Amber
Authors: Macāne Aija , Nordqvist Kerkko 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This chapter focuses on the production, use, and exchange of amber by fisher-hunter-gatherer societies in the eastern Baltic Sea area and forested north of European Russia in the fourth–third millennia bc. Baltic amber, a fossil plant resin found primarily in the southern and southeastern Baltic Sea area, was distributed mostly as ready-made objects along aquatic contact networks up to 1,500 km from the assumed sources. Amber is often discussed as a prime example of the Stone Age exotica—non-local, easily transportable, and transformable, and with noticeable physical and haptic properties—but it is also a good indicator of the broader transformations of fisher-hunter-gatherer societies during this time period.
The chapter explores three aspects that concretely illustrate these changes: the specialized production (workshops, incipient socioeconomical inequalities), the contexts of use (burial and settlement, materiality and social communication), and the exchange networks (sociopolitical alliances and reproduction). It is concluded that amber was among the new material cultures and practices that sustained and mediated the new sociocultural realities, a meaningful technology embedded in the lifeways and worldview of northern Stone Age forager societies.
The Baltic Basin
Authors: Groß Daniel , Rimkus Tomas 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
The Baltic Sea basin represents the southern and eastern Baltic shores and hinterlands of the countries Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. The Mesolithic in this area begins roughly at the Pleistocene–Holocene transition and ends with the appearance of pottery in Latvia and Lithuania or the establishment of agrarian Neolithic cultures in the other countries under consideration. It comprises several archaeological entities that are differentiated by artefact spectra and were present in different timespans. During the Preboreal and Boreal, the pan-European Maglemosian was present in the western parts and the last Swiderian and Pulli complex in the east. The area is characterized during the middle Mesolithic by the Kongemose and Chojnice-Pieńki cultures, while the Kunda culture appears at the beginning of the Boreal in the eastern Baltic area. During the Late Mesolithic, the Ertebølle culture establishes itself in Germany and western Poland, while the Janisławice (Neman) culture is distributed in eastern Poland and Lithuania. Further north, the Narva culture is present in Latvia and Estonia. While most of the cultural entities in the area were originally defined from a national perspective, modern research has shown that several of these belong to superregional technocomplexes.
Rock Art
Authors: Lahelma Antti , Gjerde Jan Magne 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This chapter presents a review of the main bodies of Mesolithic rock art in Europe, from the earliest signs of post-Palaeolithic art to the lively scenes of Spanish Levantine art and the Late Mesolithic ‘rock art explosion’ in northern Europe. Outside the two main concentrations of Mesolithic rock art in the Iberian Peninsula and Fennoscandia, individual occurrences of rock art possibly dating to the Mesolithic can be found in the Alpine Region, central France, Italy, and the Urals. The precise dating of much of this art still presents challenges, but recent advances in dating methods have helped to anchor rock art more securely in general archaeological sequences. This is particularly true in northern Europe, where post-glacial isostatic land uplift has enabled the accurate geological dating of shore-bound rock art sites. The datings offer some credence to the old notion of gradual stylistic shift from depictions of large, naturalistic prey animals in the Early Mesolithic towards smaller, dynamic scenes of schematic human and animal figures in the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition. This shift may conceivably reflect changes in how the relationship between humans and animals was conceived. Later Mesolithic rock art in both southern and northern Europe also features images of communal hunting, large rituals, armed conflict, and other scenes that suggest increased sedentism and social complexity.
Hoarding
Authors: Bjørnevad-Ahlqvist Mathias 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Mesolithic hoarding is a relatively little-known practice, even though hundreds of hoards that stretch from the very beginnings to the latest phases of the Mesolithic have been identified across Europe. This chapter aims to briefly draw out regional and macro-regional patterns whilst acknowledging the important variability in this hoarding practice, including within the types and biographies of the objects deposited, the careful geometric arrangement, wrapping and marking of some hoards, and the nature of their depositional contexts. The depositions have been interpreted as temporary storage, ritual sacrifices, or labelled simply as deposits or concentrations. However, rather than forcing a strictly ritual or profane interpretation onto these multifaceted practices, this chapter draws upon some central tendencies within hunter-gatherer lifeways, and rather suggests these hoards to be part of a complex gifting practice. Identifying and interpreting these Mesolithic hoards and the practices that lie behind them is fraught with difficulties, but they represent a relatively untapped potential to elucidate insights into Mesolithic practices, society, and ontologies.
Birch, Pine, and Other Adhesive Technologies
Authors: Langley Andrew , Little Aimée 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
The ability to adhere or glue two objects together is fundamental in the creation of composite tools. A number of different adhesives have been discovered across the European Mesolithic, mostly derived from plants. Of these, the dominant compound is birch tar. Evidence suggests that tar and resin were being used to haft microliths for arrowheads and slotted points, for sealing and repairing ceramics, and likely as an oral medicine. A number of pieces of birch tar have been discovered with teeth marks, several of which have preserved the DNA of the individuals who chewed on them. Despite this, there are many questions which remain unanswered, particularly around how and to what scale tar was distilled, why were certain adhesives favoured over others, how do adhesives fit into our wider understandings of Mesolithic lifeways, and to what extent did the transformative and sensory aspects of adhesives factor into Mesolithic belief systems?
Southern Scandinavia
Authors: Price T. Douglas 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This chapter attempts a synthesis of the Mesolithic (9700–4000 bc) in southern Scandinavia, which includes northern Germany, Denmark, southern and mid-Sweden, and southern Norway. The core area for this chapter is Denmark which seems to be the role model for this region. Discussion centres on the major chronological periods and a few important sites. Major periods include Maglemose, Kongemose, Ertebølle, Hemsbacka, Sandarna, and Lilult. Sites include Tybrind Vig, Lundby Mose, Syltholm Fjord, Tågerup, Nivå, Huseby Klev, and Motala. Recent archaeogenetic information is also included in documenting the replacement of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers by Neolithic farmers whose ancestors were from Anatolia. Southern Scandinavia has often been seen as an area where foragers became farmers.
Orwell, Joseph Conrad, and Rudyard Kipling
Authors: Hampson Robert 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This chapter discusses Burmese Days as a late addition to the literature of empire through tracing links between Orwell’s work and specific works by Rudyard Kipling and Joseph Conrad. It begins with the public school education for empire (as depicted by Kipling and Orwell) as a training in lying, gaming the rules, and punitive violence. The second part of the essay uses Conrad’s Malay fiction to discuss the anti-colonial turn in the literature of empire and Maurice Collis’s memoir of his time in Burma to suggest the limitations of Orwell’s work through its emphasis on individualism and its neglect of indigenous political agency and collective action. The final section presents the same biases in The Road to Wigan Pier in relation to the contradictions of rebelliousness and privilege that are part of Orwell’s education and formation.
Orwell and Machines
Authors: Carver Beci 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Orwell’s essay on Tolstoy ends with a cacophonous military attack on William Shakespeare. The Russian writer is at the helm of a battleship transferring all the fervour of his late-life disgruntlement at the bard into gunfire, and Shakespeare’s legacy crackles with bullets. Nevertheless, Orwell assures us, Shakespeare is safe and will remain so whatever his readers may say, for just as it is impossible to reproduce in paraphrase what makes his work beautiful and significant, it is impossible to destroy these qualities by denying their existence. Art, when genuine, is immune to interference: it cannot be recreated for the purposes of argument and cannot be arbitrarily put to death. It has the vitality and life lust, Orwell says, of a child ‘jumping up and down’ who never gets old or tired. This was March 1947, when Orwell’s own tubercular body was in rapid decline. My chapter for this volume reflects on the types of resistance that art and creative labour may oppose to the mechanical assaults of modern life.
Orwell and Stupidity
Authors: Wood Jamie 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Orwell used the term ‘stupidity’, and closely associated concepts such as ‘foolishness’ and ‘ignorance’, throughout his essays and novels as an idiosyncratic shorthand for cultural, political, and social critique. But these ideas have a complex history, suggesting Orwell’s difficulties in fully realizing the term. Once this history is organized, we can better isolate ‘stupidity’s’ underpinnings, especially Orwell’s concern that individual action was increasingly mindless in modern societies. We find in Orwell three distinct sources for these mindless acts: the legacy of painful material conditions, the pressures of a technologized society of spectacle, and acts of self-hypnosis designed to protect the psyche from the state. This helps reveal ‘stupidity’ as a critique of both totalitarianism and colonialism. It also turns attention to Orwell’s many antidotes to ‘stupidity’, and especially to the need for carefulness, seriousness, and an awakened consciousness.
Orwell’s Words
Authors: Jakubowicz Karina 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Orwell’s words are one of his greatest legacies. His influence can be found throughout the English language in the form of pithy quotations, stock phrases, and well-worn terms. This chapter examines this complex legacy, exploring the origins of phrases including ‘Newspeak’, ‘Big Brother’, and ‘2 + 2 = 5’. This overview demonstrates how the use and misuse of Orwell’s words (and of connected terms such as ‘Orwellian’) have played a major role in numerous cultural moments, influencing music, technology, advertising, and political discourse. Key to this chapter is the question of whether Orwell’s words are indeed his words any longer, or if they have been co-opted and adapted to the point where they bear little relation to his original intentions. This line of enquiry strikes at the heart of Orwell’s own concerns about the slipperiness of words, and animates his ideas concerning linguistic precision.
Orwell the Innovator
Authors: Rae Patricia 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This chapter discusses the motives behind Orwell’s stylistic innovations. It proposes that many of these innovations were adaptations of modernist literary techniques, and that that they were fuelled by what Orwell called, in ‘Why I Write’, ‘political purpose’: the project of ‘push[ing] the world in a certain direction’. Examining techniques of ‘interiority’, ‘analogy’, and ‘fragmentation’, it argues that Orwell deployed each of these with the aim of encouraging readers to be self-aware, intellectually flexible, and curious, hence resistant to the reflex speech, rigid dichotomizing, and presentism he associated with political partisanship and totalitarianism. The goal is two-fold: to highlight the benefits of approaching Orwell as a ‘difficult’ writer rather than as a ‘transparent’ one, and to further discussion of his place in the reassessment of modernist techniques during the 1930s and 1940s.
Orwell the Literary Critic
Authors: Periyan Natasha 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
This chapter examines Orwell as a literary critic, focusing on his reviewing, broadcasting, and editing. Keep the Aspidistra Flying is read in the context of Orwell’s critique of book reviewers to argue that Orwell situates both the literary critic and the bookseller as compromised by commercial demands. In contrast to the hysterical, overblown rhetoric that Orwell found to be characteristic of the reviewer, Orwell’s candid book reviews deployed provisional language and a methodology of categorizing and ranking. As literary editor of Tribune, Orwell elevated the position of the literary critic by granting space and intellectual freedom to reviewers. This freedom was in dialogue with an orthodoxy of thought that he found to be characteristic of Marxist criticism. Orwell’s literary criticism negotiated questions of content and form, despite charges that he prioritized an interest in content. While a sensitive reader of literary form, Orwell did not ally himself with practical criticism.