Making space: spatial and microwear analysis of flint tools associated with structures and settlement at the Early Mesolithic site of Star Carr

This thesis explores tool-using activities at the Early Mesolithic site of Star Carr in North Yorkshire, by analysing spatial patterns of flint use. It uses microwear and spatial analysis to first examine the use of a specific tool type - awls - and secondly, to investigate tool use associated with three potential post-built structures. Microwear results associated with the structures are examined as a means of discerning potential activity zones associated with the working of particular materials (e.g. wood, bone, antler, plant, hide, meat, fish). With 386 flints analysed, this research represents the first microwear study focused on the hut structures at Star Carr: the earliest evidence for structures in Britain. Therefore, this study extends our current understanding of Mesolithic inhabitants in Britain, using microwear analysis on a range of tool types to explore how these early structures were used.