Lithics, landscape and people : life beyond the monuments in prehistoric Guernsey

Although prehistoric megalithic monuments dominate the landscape of Guernsey, these have yielded little information concerning the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Early Bronze Age communities who inhabited the island in a broader landscape and maritime context. For this thesis it was therefore considered timely to explore the alternative material culture resource of worked flint and stone archived in the Guernsey museum. Largely ignored in previous archaeological narratives on the island or considered as unreliable data, the argument made in this thesis is for lithics being an ideal resource that, when correctly interrogated, can inform us of past people’s actions in the landscape. In order to maximise the amount of obtainable data, the lithics were subjected to a wide ranging multi-method approach encompassing all stages of the châine opératoire from material acquisition to discard, along with a consideration of the landscape context from which the material was recovered. The methodology also incorporated the extensive corpus of lithic knowledge that has been built up on the adjacent French mainland, a resource largely passed over in previous Channel Island research. By employing this approach, previously unknown patterns of human occupation and activity on the island, and the extent and temporality of maritime connectivity between Guernsey and mainland areas has been revealed. Further, a greater understanding of the lithic industry on the island has been achieved through the cross referencing of assemblages with those of the adjacent French mainland. It is argued that this research has made an original contribution to the archaeological knowledge of Guernsey. Not only has the value of a comprehensive lithic research programme been proven, but the understanding of the prehistory of Guernsey has been enhanced and visibility of peoples’ lives beyond the monuments has been gained.