Pablo’s Woodlife: Wildlife, Tracking and Bushcraft

Who are we, or more pertinently, who do we think we are? The major invasions of Britain came from the Romans, Vikings, Anglo Saxons and Normans, so you can really take your pick from that little lot. But who were the original Britons and more to the point, were they Britons at all?

It has been suggested there was no such thing until the 17th century, when James I of England and VI of Scotland sought to establish a pan-British monarchy. Until then Britain was just a geographical entity and the people of Britain were just a constantly shifting base of multi-cultural groups that had migrated to the Isles over a period of several thousand years with little single identity.

There is evidence of migration into Britain as long as 700,000 years ago although it’s thought that the changing climate of retreating and advancing ice and intermittent  land access from the continent assisted in the many failed colonisation attempts. The last attempts 12,000 years ago were more successful.

Around 6000 BCE the British Isles was finally and permanently separated from the continent. Until about 4000 BCE it was covered by woodland and the inhabitants were hunter gatherers who lived in small family groups. At around this time the hunter-gatherers started to clear the woodland which was helped by a huge outbreak of Dutch elm disease and methods of using fire to hunt. It was thought that communities had to emerge and enlarge to assist in the vast undertaking of creating clearings. Agricultural practices had started, which originated from what we now know as the middle-eastern countries. It took thousands of years to reach Britain and thousands more to become fully established.

Although these early people left no account of themselves, it is suggested that they were mainly caucasoid as were the tribal groups of Europe. Perhaps regional environments or tasks changed their features over generations, and it is certainly true that there was much regional diversity in terms of appearance, biology and customs by the time the Roman first invaded as reported by the Romans themselves.

Between 3000 BCE and 1500 BCE the communities continued to swell and monuments, burial sites and pottery were developed at least leaving a visible legacy. Farming and domestication of animals were the main source of food and it’s suspected that many settlements or tribes immerged, merged, split or simply phased out. Conflicts and contact was made with more distant groups.

By 700 BCE it was suspected that there were a number of large tribal areas made up of increasingly bigger settlements. The land had been divided up with banks, and track ways were used to move animals. The first eye-witness accounts of these tribes came from Julius Caesar himself who invaded in 54 BCE. Although he may have lumped many of them together for convenience, there is no doubt that there were identifiable tribal communities because of similarities in customs, traits, language and appearance. It is the Latin names given to these tribes that are familiar today: for example Trinovantes, Iceni, Silures, Cornovii, Selgovae. It appears (surprisingly) that the one thing they were not… is Celtic.

“…[Celts] was an invention of the 18th century; the name was not used earlier. The idea came from the discovery around 1700 that the non-English island tongues relate to that of the ancient continental Gauls, who really were called Celts. This ancient continental ethnic label was applied to the wider family of languages. But ‘Celtic’ was soon extended to describe insular monuments, art, culture and peoples, ancient and modern: island ‘Celtic’ identity was born, like Britishness, in the 18th century.”

So says Dr Simon James in Peoples of Britian. He goes on to say that the preceding bronze age did not arise out of waves of continental ‘Celtic’ invasions however there would be similarities in respect of culture, language  (called Brythonic language - the nearest is apparently like today’s Cornish) and connections; but to call the culture ‘Celtic’ as a whole is (and has been) misleading.

So, we leave ourselves at 43 CE just before the second (main) Roman invasion, which would immerse our tribal culture  into a Greco-Roman one but still without significantly changing the face of the population. This huge culture change would eventually swamp whatever culture the inhabitants of the Isles would have had. So I am suggesting we return to the pre-Roman “tribes” to look for our true ancestral “island” identity.

So, what tribe were you? Have a look here to find out.

The excellent drawings are sourced from:

http://www.framearch.co.uk/t5/

It is indeed a golden autumn. These ten days are enough to make the reputation of any climate. A tradition of these days might be handed down to posterity. They deserve a notice in history, in the history of Concord. All kinds of crudities have a chance to get ripe this year. Was there ever such an autumn? And yet there was never such a panic and hard times in the commercial world. The merchants and banks are suspending and failing all the country over, but not the sand-banks, solid and warm, and streaked with blackberry vines.

You may run upon them as much as you please,—even as the crickets do, and find their account in it. They are the stockholders in these banks, and I hear them creaking their content. You may see them on change any warmer hour. In these banks, too, and such as these, are my funds deposited, a fund of health and enjoyment. Their (the crickets) prosperity and happiness and, I trust, mine do not depend on whether the New York banks suspend or no.

We do not rely on such a slender security as the thin paper of the Suffolk Bank. To put your trust in such a bank is to be swallowed up and undergo suffocation. Invest, I say, in these country banks. Let your capital be simplicity and contentment. Withered goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis) is no failure, like a broken bank, and yet in its most golden season, nobody counterfeits it. Nature needs no counterfeit detector.

I have no compassion for, nor sympathy with, this miserable state of things. Banks built of granite, after some Grecian or Roman style, with their porticoes and their safes of iron, are not so permanent, and cannot give me so good security for capital invested in them, as the heads of weathered hardhack in the meadow. I do not suspect the solvency of these. I know who is their president and cashier.

Sadly, I can’t take credit for any of the above and it wasn’t even written today. It was written on this day in 1857 by Henry David Thoreau.

Life goes on and very little changes; except the changes of the seasons.

Thanks to owners of The Blog of Henry David Thoreau.

Pablo.

P.S. The new DDhammock and Tarp video review will be up on Thursday - I promise!

The weather turned nasty on Bank Holiday Monday, making the woods a “no-go” on account of the very strong winds, so Mrs P and I decided to take a short trip to West Stow. This is a reconstructed Anglo Saxon village c450 with a small visitor centre.

Braving the elements, we walked around the visitor centre and we were pleased to see that reenactors had taken over the village for the weekend. We were able to take shelter in some of the buildings where a good fire was on the go (and some delicious smelling stew - unfortunately not available to the likes of us).

There were demonstrations of cooking, weaving and weaponry. I took particular interest in the Seaxes (the knives), axes and clothing.

Each person would have a two or three knives on their person. This made me feel better as I normally have the same. They carried a small utility knife called a hadseax (2 -4 inches), a couple of longer knives (also used for fighting) of between 6 and 14 inches. One of these were worn dangling horizontally on a belt in front of the person. The blade would have been uppermost presumably to save the edge.

A spear was used for hunting and was also the primary fighting weapon. In rare cases a long sword was also carried into battle. Bows were used for hunting but rarely used in battle. The “honour” of being face to face with the enemy made the bow virtually redundant apart from larger battles where it was used almost as a “sniper” weapon to pick off vulnerable enemy.

Each tool had a dual purpose, and the axe was no different. Each cutting tool was used for domestic purposes as well as for use for fighting (apart from the sword which was used only in battle by those who could afford one).

The reenactors showed some fighting techniques including the shield wall.

The battle masks were also interesting and copies of some of the helmets showed remarkable workmanship. Mrs Pablo insisted on trying one on in the visitor centre. “Very fetching, dear.”

Each person carried a large leather pouch and sometimes a couple of smaller pouches to carry personal effects and of course flint and steel in the traditional “C” shape for firelighting.

I came away with a small hand forged 2″ seax that I intend to sharpen up, modify slightly and use as a neck knife. The shape is interesting and is described as “broken back” and is based on one or two found on site in the burial areas. This showed how personal they considered the Seax to be. The shape is believed to be more effective for the fighting element as opposed to the utility purpose. Interestingly, Saxon may be derived from Seax making the Saxons “The Knife People”.

The visit has jolted me in to realising that I’m still using a lot of technical kit and clothing and perhaps I should to try out more natural materials (without going around and looking like an Anglo-Saxon reenactor that is). It has also inspired me to have a go at making some more stuff myself. I think I’ll give the mask as miss though!

“Darling, you can take that mask off now. Oh sorry, you have”.

Monday should see a write up of a weekend spent with “The Tribe” in East Sussex. Until then.

Pablo.