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the group may have sometimes stayed at the site for months
at a time. There are many such sites on a low sandstone ridge
in Greasby, but this is the only one that has been excavated.
Palaeolithic hunter-gatherer groups probably returned
frequently to this same area over hundreds of years. A few
miles away, at Thurstaston, an even denser concentration of
stone tools has been found, representing another important
site of the period. The site at Greasby – and possibly the one
at Thurstaston – was probably a base camp: the group would
have had a number of less elaborate camps around Wirral
and in North Wales that would have been used overnight by
hunters, and for killing and butchering animals.
Throughout prehistory there was a large variety and number
of small-scale societies, and many minor 'tribal' identities,
typically lasting perhaps no more than a few generations
before splitting, merging or being obliterated. The group that
lived for part of each year at the Greasby site was just one
of many. These groups would have been in contact – and
sometimes in confli ct – with their neighbours, and sometimes
with more distant groups, as evidenced by finds of imported
objects. The period from the arrival of the earliest modern
humans to the beginning of recorded history is about 10,000
years, or 400 generations. Yet we know very little about what
went on through this long span of time; it is hard even to
answer in detail the question, 'Who were the early inhabitants
of Wirral?' because they have left no accounts of themselves.
We know nothing of family or individual names, nor can we
be sure what language they spoke. We can speculate that the
men were bearded, having no blades sharp enough to make
shaving possible, and that men and women wore clothes made
of animal skins.
All we have for certain are the clues found in the scattered
remains of their temporary habitations, like those at Greasby.
In comparison with the Roman or Norse presence on Wirral,
our Mesolithic forebears are likely to keep many of their
secrets until the end of time.
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