 |
| The ascent of the paceman (image from issue 4 of the Nightwatchman). |
First,
a wooden implement, hand-carved using stone tools. It is
round-handled and flat-bladed, though the bottom is broken off. Dug
up from 10,000 year-old peat deposits in farmland a few miles
south-west of Scarborough; the most ancient paddle in the world.
Secondly,
the 'frontlets'. Made of bone, they are deer skulls with eye holes
scoured into them and the antlers cut down to stumps. More than 20 of
them have been found in the same small corner of North Yorkshire.
Thirdly,
in a trench excavated into dry ground next to what had once been a
lake, a series of round post-holes surround a specially dug hollow,
rich in pieces of worked flint. The cryptic remains of a simple
wooden hut, it turns out to be Britain's oldest house.
These
discoveries all come from a Mesolithic site called Star Carr, and are
just a selection of the astonishing artefacts that have turned up
there over the last half-century. Every year of excavation brings new
finds: a willow digging stick was recently unearthed by a friend of
mine.
Star
Carr is the most important Middle Stone Age site in Europe, the
exquisite preservation of its specimens providing archaeologists with
unique insights into prehistoric life. It has revolutionized our
understanding of what people were doing in Britain shortly after the
Ice Age.
However,
I can't help but find myself wondering. A grassy clearing in
Yorkshire. Preparation work in early summer. A basic hut for shelter.
Willow tools for digging in on a sticky wicket. Special headwear for
about 22 people. A bat.
Star
Carr's occupants weren't hunters or gatherers. They were the first cricketers.
 |
| The most ancient paddle in the world, or the first cricket bat? You decide. |
++++++++++++++++++++
This is a snippet from an essay I wrote for Issue 4 of The Nightwatchman, the Wisden Cricket Quarterly, about the evolution of cricket and pace bowlers. Should you wish, you can buy the issue here.
Comments