Over 4,000 items of worked flint were recovered and recorded in the field
by Christine Haughton. As part of the assessment process, the records and
the material recovered were scanned to verify the Type, Sub-type and Class
data fields recorded in the primary records. Few edits were required and
an overall examination was undertaken to identify the temporal and object
range and the range of raw materials present in the assemblage as a whole.
4.13.2 The lithic assemblage
The assemblage, which includes material from the Mesolithic, Late Neolithic
and Early Bronze Age, was found to be broadly comparable with that recovered
from both the Cooks Quarry site and from the cemetery (Powlesland,
Haughton and Hanson 1986, Haughton
and Powlesland forthcoming). The relative frequency of the material
is lower than on the sites to the north but is nonetheless a significant
group. Of the whole assemblage, flakes represent more than 50% with blades
a further 20%, with more than 100 cores and core fragments. A number of
discrete assemblages indicate that flint was worked on site, although the
distribution of material shows a concentration within the sandy lower-lying
areas than on the heavier chalky soils to the south. This distribution,
which may indicate varying exploitation of the land, needs to be carefully
analysed to determine to what extent it represents a true distribution
rather than a function of the greater plough damage in the chalky areas
(see also 6.1 The Prehistoric Landscape and
7.1.1 Prehistoric).
4.13.3 Analytical potential
The high precision of the spatial record will allow a more detailed analysis
than might normally be possible on a site of this kind. Whilst the assemblage
forms a valuable addition to those already collected at West Heslerton
its greatest potential lies within the broader context of the Heslerton
sites collectively. Here we have the opportunity to analyse an extensive
spread of lithic material and associated ritual and domestic features distributed
across an extensive area of landscape extending across a geomorphological
boundary. Whilst a detailed analysis of the assemblage may offer little
that is new, comparative and spatial analysis with the material derived
from the two earlier excavations offers an exciting research opportunity.
The facility to examine changing land-use patterns, temporal variation
in basic source material and aspects of production, consumption and exchange
should not be lost.
Fig. 4.7 Lithics by basic type
The extensive computerised database combined with the Project's GIS
software offers an opportunity to examine land exploitation during the
later prehistoric period in a way that is rarely possible. This objective
will clearly need integrating with the prehistoric ceramics and feature
analysis programs. A relatively high count of stone axe fragments may,
for instance, indicate expansion during the Late Neolithic on to the relatively
heavy soils at the foot of the Wolds, an area that was at least being exploited
for hunting as demonstrated by a high count of arrow-heads in the assemblage.
