Customer Reviews

Scotland's First Settlers: (Historic Scotland Series)

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In this 1994 book an archaeologist introduces us to her line of work. Which is nice. It isn't why I bought this book, though. I wouldn't really complain and take along the by no means uninteresting information on the procedures of digging up prehistoric remains of modern humans - on the continuous example of Scotland - however, if that takes 106 pages, before the author REALLY gets to the content of the title, this is a little flabbergasting - if there are only 120 regular text pages altogether. The picture isn't really fleshed out now, as the author would like us believe after that tease. Especially galling, when the book(let) gets repetitive on bottom of it, as thin as it is. Don't get me wrong, it isn't a complete waste of time to read this book, it's unjust very limited on the conjectured topic. I was especially interested, where the first (pre-glacial) and second (post-glacial) modern humans came from. A question sure to get an expected answer to. "There is... no site in Scotland that could be said to relate in a straightforward fashion to a population that derived from England." That is indeed "revealing" to read in an orthodox science book. However, the provided origin is largely limited to Ireland and as for a nice catch the now submerged, then ice free North Sea basin between the UK and Scandinavia. And where did these peoples come from? A lack of information, even speculation suggests that the author doesn't want to touch the controversy, as there are classic and modern scientists who suggest, these "British aborigines" were black/dark-skinned. (Repeated in later migrations, e.g. from Egypt.) For more on that read e.g. Ivan van Sertima's African Presence in Early Europe (Journal of African Civilizations) and the 19th century Ancient and Modern Britons: Volume One (Ancient & Modern Britons) (+ Volume II). Or Bryan Sykes genetic books The Seven Daughters of Eve and Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland.