When the last Ice Age ended around 10,000 BC, the flora
and fauna began to slowly re-colonize the North of Scotland.
The first people to move back into the region were nomadic
Hunter-Gatherers. Archaeologists refer to their time
as the Mesolithic or “Middle Stone Age.”
Moving in relatively small extended family groups, the
people of the Mesolithic Age made use of the waterways
in the NE of Scotland as much as possible. It is along
the banks of these waterways that most of the archaeological
evidence of their existence is found. Using tools made
from flint, bone, wood, antler and other organic materials,
these people hunted deer, wild boar, game fowl and perhaps
even bear. They gathered fruits, nuts, wild cereal crops
and fungi from the dense woodland covering the landscape.
Far from the grunting caveman stereotype, these people
made complex tools, domesticated dogs from the wild wolves,
took fish and shellfish from the waterways and managed
to thrive despite harsh living conditions.
Within the park, you can visit a reconstructed Hunter-Gatherer
encampment with a reconstructed wood and hide “bender” hut,
based on sites excavated along the River Dee. There is
also a reconstructed dug out canoe, a “shell midden,” leather
drying and meat smoking racks and native trees.
Daily activities feature demonstrations of flint knapping,
tool making with antler and bone, archery, leather working,
cooking and basketry.
View the 10,000 Years Map