At the far end of everything: A likely Ahrensburgian presence in the far north of the Isle of Skye, Scotland

Abstract

A Late Upper Paleolithic (LUP) site containing Ahrensburgian-type stone tools has been discovered at South Cuidrach, Isle of Skye, Scotland. Together with a group of intertidal stone circular alignments also recently discovered on the island, this new evidence for the occupation of northern Scotland also represents the most northerly LUP site in Britain. The timing of the continental Ahrensburgian culture is closely linked to the later part of the Younger Dryas, also known regionally as the Loch Lomond Stadial (LLS), a cold period that saw a significant ice cap and glacier expansion across the mainland of western Scotland. Here, we examine the climatic, environmental and relative sea-level contexts and reflect on the location of this site on an island to the north-west of the Younger Dryas ice mass. South Cuidrach is situated on the north coast of Skye, lying around 25 km north-west of the maximum known local extent of the Younger Dryas ice mass. Most of the lithic assemblage is made from locally available baked mudstone. The site has good access to coastal and riverine resources and readily available ochre, suggesting it was deliberately chosen. Together with the new stone alignments and several other nearby sites, this region now contains more evidence for the LUP than anywhere else in Scotland. The geography and Late Glacial environment of west Scotland comprised a volatile landscape of water, mountains and fluctuating glaciers and coastlines, a challenging area at the north-westerly limit of the European landmass that was very different to the Ahrensburgian core territories in mainland Europe. We anticipate that by examining this new evidence within the various broad geographical and geomorphological conditions, there is significant potential for the discovery of further LUP locations both on and off-shore in this region.