Lucille Rodrigues

This project aims to improve current understanding of the Mesolithic period in Scotland through analysis of understudied stone tool collections from the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh and museums and heritage centres further afield. As stone tools, or lithics, are the most likely form of material culture to be preserved at sites dating to this period, their study is vital to piecing together the lives of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Previously research on this topic has been centred on stone tools from sites in the West and East of Scotland. However this project will focus on collections from the south of Scotland, North Highlands and Northern Isles to counterbalance this bias. Comparisons of stone tools from these collections will allow a more comprehensive and nuanced picture of the Scottish Mesolithic to be established and ultimately, inform the re-interpretation of Scottish early prehistoric narratives at the National Museum of Scotland.