Chronology/Mesolithic start dateOpen
The original run recorded no claims; the grounding added later is below.
Source claimc1 · confidence 1.0
The source register's gaps section says the knowledge base starts the British Mesolithic at c. 11,000 BC, dates MWP-1B to c. 9350 BC, and puts MWP-1B about 1,650 years after that start.
line 672 of preserved source
The knowledge base starts the British Mesolithic at c. 11,000 BC, but MWP-1B is dated ~11,300 years ago (c. 9350 BC), roughly 1,650 years after that start.
Source claimc2 · confidence 1.0
The same passage says the session's description of MWP-1B as 'right at the start' holds only under an alternative convention (c. 8800 BC), and asks for one Mesolithic start date to be decided for the schema. It does not name the source of the 8800 BC convention.
line 672 of preserved source
which only holds under the alternative convention (c. 8800 BC). Decide on one Mesolithic start date for the schema.
Factc3 · confidence 1.0
KB v4's period table gives the Mesolithic as 11,000-4000 BC (line 15).
Evidence: https://github.com/uap-prog/mysite/blob/5ce9f22171e244f1772313c9a1345226b4cf2394/knowledge/sources/ancient-britain/ancient-britain-knowledge-base-v4.md#L15 · repository · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote compared with the page
| Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) | 11,000–4000 BC |
Factc4 · confidence 1.0
KB v4's MWP-1B paragraph (line 52) says the Mesolithic start date varies by convention, c. 11,000 BC in its own timeline and c. 8800 BC 'in some others'. It does not say which others.
Evidence: https://github.com/uap-prog/mysite/blob/5ce9f22171e244f1772313c9a1345226b4cf2394/knowledge/sources/ancient-britain/ancient-britain-knowledge-base-v4.md#L52 · repository · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote compared with the page
(start date varies by convention: c. 11,000 BC in this file's timeline, c. 8800 BC in some others)
Factc5 · confidence 1.0
The canonical note gives the Mesolithic as c. 10,000-4000 BC (line 65, section '2. Mesolithic Britain') and ends the Palaeolithic at c. 10,000 BC (line 38). It states no other start date and does not mention the 11,000 BC or 8800 BC conventions.
Evidence: https://github.com/uap-prog/mysite/blob/5ce9f22171e244f1772313c9a1345226b4cf2394/knowledge/notes/britain-deep-history.md#L65 · repository · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote compared with the page
**Approximate span:** c. 10,000–4000 BC
Evidence: https://github.com/uap-prog/mysite/blob/5ce9f22171e244f1772313c9a1345226b4cf2394/knowledge/notes/britain-deep-history.md#L38 · repository · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote compared with the page
**Approximate span:** c. 900,000–10,000 BC
Inferencec6 · confidence 0.85
Three Mesolithic start dates are on record: c. 11,000 BC (KB v4 timeline and the register's description of the knowledge base), c. 10,000 BC (the canonical note) and c. 8800 BC (an alternative convention named by the register and KB v4 without a source). Against MWP-1B at c. 9350 BC (as given in the register and KB v4), the starts are 1,650 years before it (11,000 BC), 650 years before it (10,000 BC) and 550 years after it (8800 BC). The sources do not say which convention is intended for the Archive.
Inferencec7 · confidence 0.8
The register's 'tension' statement and KB v4 both name two conventions (11,000 BC and 8800 BC); the canonical note's c. 10,000 BC is a third figure that neither names. The records do not say whether it is a deliberate rounding or a different convention. This run does not decide that.
This grounding is approved on 2026-10-12. Grounds run 001 p3 with quotes and adds the canonical note's c. 10,000 BC as a third start date. Record as open; choose none; change no document.
Factc1 · confidence 0.75
The Archaeology Data Service's Mesolithic research framework starts the British Mesolithic 'at about 9600 cal BC', with the beginning of the Preboreal, and ends it 'at about 4000 cal BC in Britain' with the introduction of farming. It calls the boundaries 'rather fuzzy'.
Evidence: https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/researchframeworks/mesolithic/wiki/Meso_Res_Cons_Framework · institutional page · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote not checked verbatim
at about 9600 cal BC
Evidence: https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/researchframeworks/mesolithic/wiki/Meso_Res_Cons_Framework · institutional page · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote not checked verbatim
finishes at about 4000 cal BC in Britain with the introduction of farming
Evidence: https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/researchframeworks/mesolithic/wiki/Meso_Res_Cons_Framework · institutional page · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote not checked verbatim
the boundaries of the period are rather fuzzy
Factc2 · confidence 0.7
Conneller and Griffiths (Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 90, 2024) build a chronological framework for 'c. 9800-3600 cal bc'. Their English abstract and results differ slightly on the start (c. 9800 and c. 9600 cal bc), and a Spanish abstract gives 9500-3500. They describe the internal chronological resolution of the Mesolithic as poor.
Evidence: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-prehistoric-society/article/time-and-change-in-mesolithic-britain-c-98003600-cal-bc/0AD03AE18BCD46BB2F3505DB043F8652 · publisher page · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote not checked verbatim
for the period c. 9800–3600 cal bc
Factc3 · confidence 0.8
Walker et al. (Journal of Quaternary Science 24(1), 2009) date the base of the Holocene, from the Greenland NGRIP ice core, to 11,700 calendar years b2k (before AD 2000), with a maximum counting error of 99 years.
Evidence: https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/en/publications/formal-definition-and-dating-of-the-gssp-global-stratotype-sectio · institutional page · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote not checked verbatim
provides an age of 11 700 calendar yr b2 k (before AD 2000) for the base of the Holocene
Factc4 · confidence 0.6
Wikipedia's Mesolithic article gives the British Mesolithic as 11,000-6,000 BP. This is an encyclopaedia summary, not a scholarly source, and it does not say how the figure was derived.
Evidence: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesolithic · secondary · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote not checked verbatim
British Mesolithic 11,000–6,000 BP
Source claimc5 · confidence 1.0
The source register says the knowledge base starts the British Mesolithic at c. 11,000 BC and dates MWP-1B to c. 9350 BC.
line 672 of preserved source
The knowledge base starts the British Mesolithic at c. 11,000 BC, but MWP-1B is dated ~11,300 years ago (c. 9350 BC), roughly 1,650 years after that start.
Factc6 · confidence 1.0
KB v4 gives the Mesolithic as 11,000-4000 BC (line 15).
Evidence: https://github.com/uap-prog/mysite/blob/5ce9f22171e244f1772313c9a1345226b4cf2394/knowledge/sources/ancient-britain/ancient-britain-knowledge-base-v4.md#L15 · repository · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote compared with the page
| Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) | 11,000–4000 BC |
Factc7 · confidence 1.0
The canonical note gives the Mesolithic as c. 10,000-4000 BC (line 65).
Evidence: https://github.com/uap-prog/mysite/blob/5ce9f22171e244f1772313c9a1345226b4cf2394/knowledge/notes/britain-deep-history.md#L65 · repository · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote compared with the page
**Approximate span:** c. 10,000–4000 BC
Inferencec8 · confidence 0.7
Taking b2k as before AD 2000, 11,700 b2k is 9700 BC. The Holocene base (c3), the ADS start (c1, c. 9600 cal BC) and Conneller and Griffiths's range (c2, c. 9500-9800 cal bc) all fall within about 9500-9800 BC. Recent British scholarship therefore places the start of the Mesolithic at roughly that time, with the boundary acknowledged as imprecise. This is two sources and one reference date, not a survey of the literature.
Inferencec9 · confidence 0.8
None of the Archive's three start dates matches that range. Measured from c. 9600 cal BC, 11,000 BC (KB v4) is 1,400 years earlier, c. 10,000 BC (canonical note) is 400 years earlier, and c. 8800 BC (the register's unsourced alternative) is 800 years later.
Hypothesisc10 · confidence 0.3
KB v4's 11,000 BC may be a before-present figure written as BC. Wikipedia's British range is 11,000-6,000 BP (c4); 6,000 BP is about 4050 BC, which matches KB v4's 4000 BC end, but 11,000 BP is about 9050 BC, not 11,000 BC. No source says this happened; the match at the end of the range is weak evidence and the start does not convert.
This grounding is approved on 2026-10-12. Adds the scholarly start (about 9500-9800 cal BC) to the conflict from run 001 p3. None of c. 11,000, c. 10,000 or c. 8800 BC matches it. Record as open; choose none. The BP/BC explanation (c10) is a hypothesis only.
Factc1 · confidence 0.75
Historic England's historic periods page gives the Mesolithic as 10,000 BC to 4000 BC, with an Early phase of 10,000-7000 BC and a Late phase of 7000-4000 BC.
Evidence: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/historic-periods/ · institutional page · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote not checked verbatim
The Mesolithic (10,000 BC to 4000 BC)
Evidence: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/historic-periods/ · institutional page · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote not checked verbatim
Mesolithic 10,000 BC to 4000 BC
Factc2 · confidence 0.7
The same page gives the Palaeolithic as 900,000 BC to 10,000 BC in its section heading, but 1,000,000 BC to 10,000 BC in its period list, so it is not consistent with itself on the Palaeolithic start.
Evidence: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/historic-periods/ · institutional page · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote not checked verbatim
The Palaeolithic (900,000 BC to 10,000 BC)
Factc3 · confidence 0.7
The National Trust's 'Unearthing Britain's history' page gives the Mesolithic as c. 10,000-4000 BC.
Evidence: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/history/unearthing-britains-history · institutional page · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote not checked verbatim
Mesolithic (c. 10,000–4000 BC)
Factc4 · confidence 0.75
The Ashmolean Museum's British Archaeology Collections page is headed 'Mesolithic (9600 - 4000 BC)'. It dates the start to just after the end of the Pleistocene 'approximately 11,600 years ago' and the end to the beginning of the Neolithic 'about 4000 calibrated years BC'.
Evidence: https://britisharchaeology.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/collections/mesolithic.html · institutional page · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote not checked verbatim
Mesolithic (9600 - 4000 BC)
Evidence: https://britisharchaeology.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/collections/mesolithic.html · institutional page · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote not checked verbatim
approximately 11,600 years ago
Evidence: https://britisharchaeology.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/collections/mesolithic.html · institutional page · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote not checked verbatim
about 4000 calibrated years BC
Factc5 · confidence 0.75
The Archaeology Data Service's Mesolithic research framework starts the British Mesolithic 'at about 9600 cal BC' with the Preboreal, ends it 'at about 4000 cal BC in Britain' with the introduction of farming, and calls the boundaries 'rather fuzzy'. (Also in run 008 c1.)
Evidence: https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/researchframeworks/mesolithic/wiki/Meso_Res_Cons_Framework · institutional page · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote not checked verbatim
at about 9600 cal BC
Evidence: https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/researchframeworks/mesolithic/wiki/Meso_Res_Cons_Framework · institutional page · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote not checked verbatim
the boundaries of the period are rather fuzzy
Factc6 · confidence 0.7
Conneller and Griffiths (2024) work with c. 9800-3600 cal bc for British Mesolithic stone-tool assemblages. (Also in run 008 c2.)
Evidence: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-prehistoric-society/article/time-and-change-in-mesolithic-britain-c-98003600-cal-bc/0AD03AE18BCD46BB2F3505DB043F8652 · publisher page · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote not checked verbatim
for the period c. 9800–3600 cal bc
Factc7 · confidence 1.0
The canonical note gives the Palaeolithic as c. 900,000-10,000 BC (line 38) and the Mesolithic as c. 10,000-4000 BC (line 65).
Evidence: https://github.com/uap-prog/mysite/blob/5ce9f22171e244f1772313c9a1345226b4cf2394/knowledge/notes/britain-deep-history.md#L38 · repository · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote compared with the page
**Approximate span:** c. 900,000–10,000 BC
Evidence: https://github.com/uap-prog/mysite/blob/5ce9f22171e244f1772313c9a1345226b4cf2394/knowledge/notes/britain-deep-history.md#L65 · repository · retrieved 2026-10-12 · quote compared with the page
**Approximate span:** c. 10,000–4000 BC
Inferencec8 · confidence 0.6
The canonical note's two span lines (Palaeolithic 900,000-10,000 BC; Mesolithic 10,000-4000 BC) match the figures in Historic England's section headings (c1, c2) and the National Trust's Mesolithic figure (c3). The match is consistent with the note having followed that convention but does not show it; the note gives no source for its spans.
Inferencec9 · confidence 0.75
Two start conventions are in use in institutional sources: c. 10,000 BC (Historic England, National Trust) and about 9600 cal BC (Archaeology Data Service, Ashmolean), a difference of about 400 years. The pages do not explain the difference. Conneller and Griffiths's c. 9800 cal bc concerns assemblages and is a third, nearby figure. Both main conventions end the period at about 4000 BC.
Inferencec10 · confidence 0.75
Correction to run 008 c9, which said none of the Archive's three start dates matches the scholarly figure. That holds only against about 9600 cal BC. The canonical note's c. 10,000 BC matches the Historic England and National Trust convention (c1, c3, c7), so the note's figure is a recognised institutional one and not a stray third date.
Inferencec11 · confidence 0.85
9600 BC is about 11,600 years ago, which agrees with the Ashmolean's own statement (c4), and 4000 BC is about 6,000 years ago. A range of '10,000 to 6,000 years ago' therefore does not convert 9600-4000 BC; its start is the 10,000 BC figure read as years ago. Reading a BC date as years ago, or the reverse, moves a start date by about 2,000 years.
This grounding is approved on 2026-10-12. Adds Historic England, the National Trust and the Ashmolean to the conflict from run 001 p3. Two conventions (c. 10,000 BC and about 9600 cal BC) are in institutional use, and the note's c. 10,000 BC is the first. Corrects run 008 c9. Record as open; choose none.
Source claimc1 · confidence 1.0
The abstract gives the period the paper treats as 'c. 9800–3600 cal BC'.
line 4 of preserved source
With this new approach, we outline different understandings of temporality and inhabitation for the period *c.* 9800–3600 cal **BC**.
Source claimc2 · confidence 1.0
The paper's radiocarbon dataset is described as the distribution of radiocarbon measurements 'between c. 9800 and 3600 cal BC'. The 9800 figure is therefore the range of dated measurements considered, stated in the paper's mapping section.
line 236 of preserved source
the distribution of radiocarbon measurements between *c***. 9800 and 3600 cal BC
Source claimc3 · confidence 1.0
The paper says its Early, Middle, Late and Final microlith forms represent broadly sequential change over 'the timeframe c.9600–3600 cal BC'. This is a second start figure in the same paper, 200 years later than the abstract's.
line 164 of preserved source
Early, Middle, Late, and Final forms clearly represent broadly sequential changes over the timeframe *c.*9600–3600 cal BC
Source claimc4 · confidence 1.0
Early Mesolithic assemblages 'probably first appeared in the 94th or 93rd centuries cal BC (94% probable)'; Star Carr forms clearly pre-date other types and first appear then (99.9% probability).
line 180 of preserved source
Early Mesolithic assemblages probably first appeared in the 94th or 93rd centuries cal **BC (94% probable). Of these, Star Carr forms clearly pre-date other types, first appearing at that time (99.9% probability).
Source claimc5 · confidence 1.0
The paper dates its Early Mesolithic phase to the 94th/93rd to the 83rd/80th centuries cal BC.
line 191 of preserved source
Early Mesolithic: 94th/93rd–83rd/80th centuries cal BC
Inferencec9 · confidence 0.85
The paper gives three different start figures: c. 9800 cal BC (abstract and radiocarbon dataset), c. 9600 cal BC (the framework's timeframe) and, for the first Early Mesolithic assemblages, the 94th or 93rd centuries cal BC. By the usual century count that is about 9400-9200 cal BC (the arithmetic is mine, not the paper's). The paper does not state a single start date for the Mesolithic, and its figures describe radiocarbon measurements and microlith assemblages, not a definition of the period's boundary.
Inferencec10 · confidence 0.85
Correction to earlier runs. Run 008 c2 and run 009 c6 describe Conneller and Griffiths as working with 'c. 9800-3600 cal bc for British Mesolithic stone-tool assemblages', and a summary supplied by the owner says the paper puts the earliest Mesolithic stone-tool activity near 9800 BC. Neither matches the text: 9800 is the abstract's range and the radiocarbon dataset's range, while the earliest diagnostic assemblages in the paper are dated from about 9400-9200 cal BC.
Inferencec11 · confidence 0.7
The paper's figures sit close to, but are not the same as, the other conventions on record. About 9600 cal BC (the paper's framework timeframe) matches the ADS and Ashmolean start in run 009 c4-c5; c. 9800 is 200 years earlier; and the first Early Mesolithic assemblages (about 9400-9200 cal BC) are 200 to 400 years later than 9600. c. 10,000 BC (Historic England, National Trust) is earlier than anything in the paper. These comparisons rest on external quotes that are still unchecked in runs 008 and 009.
Inferencec12 · confidence 0.9
The earlier web summary of this article reported French, German and Spanish abstracts giving c. 9500-3500 cal bc. The file supplied holds an English abstract only, and '9500' does not occur in it, so those figures are neither confirmed nor contradicted here.
This grounding is approved on 2026-10-12. Adds the paper's own figures to the conflict from run 001 p3 and corrects how runs 008 c2, 009 c6 and the owner-supplied summary described it. Record as open; choose none.
Source claimc1 · confidence 1.0
The Ashmolean Museum text dates the British Mesolithic from just after the end of the Pleistocene, 'approximately 11,600 years ago', to the beginning of the Neolithic 'about 4000 calibrated years BC'. Only the end is described as calibrated.
line 2 of preserved source
dates from just after the end of the Pleistocene ('Ice Age') approximately 11,600 years ago, to the beginning of the Neolithic period about 4000 calibrated years BC.
Source claimc2 · confidence 1.0
It divides the period in England into Early (about 9600-6000 BC) and Later (about 6000-4000 BC) phases, based mainly on lithic typology and technology. This puts the Early/Later boundary at 6000 BC, against 7000 BC in Historic England's list (run 009 c1).
line 2 of preserved source
divided into Early (about 9600-6000 BC) and Later (about 6000-4000 BC) phases mainly based on lithic artefact typologoes and technology.
Source claimc3 · confidence 1.0
It says the Early/Later division is well supported by radiocarbon dating and palaeoenvironmental evidence.
line 2 of preserved source
The division is also well-supported by radiocarbon dating and associated palaeoenvironmental evidence.
Inferencec7 · confidence 0.85
The text's 'approximately 11,600 years ago' and its Early phase beginning 'about 9600 BC' agree with each other: 9600 BC is about 11,600 years before the present. It gives no calendar BC date for the start outside the Early phase range, so the start is about 9600 BC (the Early phase's start) and it does not say whether that figure is calibrated.
Inferencec9 · confidence 0.9
Correction to run 009. Run 009 c4 reported, through a summarising tool, a page heading 'Mesolithic (9600 - 4000 BC)' for the Ashmolean page. The text supplied by the owner, which starts at 'British Collections by Archaeological Period:', contains no such heading, so that heading is unconfirmed. What the supplied text does give is the start 'about 9600 BC' as the beginning of the Early phase (c2). Run 009's other Ashmolean quotes ('approximately 11,600 years ago', 'about 4000 calibrated years BC') are confirmed here (c1). Run 009 c4 and the proposed wording also speak of 'about 9600 cal BC' for the Ashmolean; the text says 'BC' for the start and 'calibrated years BC' only for the end.
This grounding is approved on 2026-10-12. Adds the Ashmolean's Early/Later phases (9600-6000 and 6000-4000 BC) to the start-date conflict, and corrects run 009 c4 (unconfirmed heading; BC not cal BC). Record as open; choose none.
Source claimc1 · confidence 1.0
Historic England's list of archaeological periods gives the Mesolithic as 10,000 BC to 4000 BC.
line 6 of preserved source
Mesolithic 10,000 BC to 4000 BC
Source claimc2 · confidence 1.0
It gives the Early Mesolithic as 10,000 BC to 7000 BC.
line 7 of preserved source
Early Mesolithic 10,000 BC to 7000 BC
Source claimc3 · confidence 1.0
It gives the Late Mesolithic as 7000 BC to 4000 BC.
line 8 of preserved source
Late Mesolithic 7000 BC to 4000 BC
Source claimc4 · confidence 1.0
It ends the Upper Palaeolithic at 10,000 BC, the same year as the Mesolithic starts.
line 5 of preserved source
Upper Palaeolithic 40,000 BC to 10,000 BC
Inferencec9 · confidence 0.9
The Historic England figures in run 009 c1 (Mesolithic 10,000-4000 BC, Early 10,000-7000, Late 7000-4000) are confirmed by this list. Historic England gives no 'cal' or 'calibrated' qualifier on any date in it. The Early/Late boundary is 7000 BC here, against about 6000 BC in the Ashmolean text (run 011 c2).
Inferencec10 · confidence 0.85
Correction to run 009 c2 and c8. Run 009 reported, through a summarising tool, a Historic England section heading 'The Palaeolithic (900,000 BC to 10,000 BC)', and c8 observed that the canonical note's Palaeolithic span (c. 900,000-10,000 BC) matches it. This list gives 1,000,000 BC, and the section heading is not in the pasted text, so it is unconfirmed. The note's 900,000 BC start is therefore not shown to match Historic England's list. The match of the note's Mesolithic span (c. 10,000-4000 BC) with Historic England stands (c1).
This grounding is approved on 2026-10-12. Adds Historic England's confirmed Mesolithic figures to the start-date conflict, and corrects run 009 c2/c8 on the Palaeolithic heading. Record as open; choose none.
Source claimc1 · confidence 1.0
The typochronology resource dates the Early Mesolithic Star Carr type assemblages to 9300 to 8300 BC.
lines 3–5 of preserved source
9300-8300 BC
Source claimc10 · confidence 1.0
The typochronology resource dates the Final Mesolithic rod microliths assemblages to 4200 to 3800 BC.
lines 104–106 of preserved source
4200-3800BC
Inferencec11 · confidence 0.85
The earliest assemblage type in the resource is the Early Mesolithic Star Carr type, dated 9300-8300 BC (c1). No type in the resource begins earlier, and the resource's last type ends 3800 BC (c10). The resource is described by ADS as a guide to dating assemblages 'based on modelling of radiocarbon dates linked to assemblages', so these are modelled date ranges for stone-tool types, not boundaries of the Mesolithic period.
Inferencec12 · confidence 0.75
Measured from the earliest assemblage start (9300 BC), the other start figures on record are: about 9600 cal BC (ADS research framework, Ashmolean) 300 years earlier; c. 10,000 BC (Historic England, National Trust) 700 years earlier; c. 11,000 BC (KB v4) 1,700 years earlier; and c. 8800 BC (the register's unsourced alternative) 500 years later, which falls between the Star Carr type start (9300) and the Deepcar type start (8700). The comparisons use runs 009, 011 and 012 and this resource; the quotes from the ADS framework and National Trust in those runs are still unchecked.
Inferencec13 · confidence 0.8
The resource's Star Carr type start (9300 BC) is consistent with the paper's statement that Early Mesolithic assemblages first appear in the 94th or 93rd centuries cal BC (run 010 c4), which by the usual century count is about 9400-9200 cal BC. The resource does not say whether its dates are calibrated; the paper uses cal BC and this resource says BC.
Inferencec14 · confidence 0.8
The sources divide the Mesolithic into Early and Later phases at very different points: this resource has Early types ending 8300-8100 BC and Middle types beginning 8200-8000 BC, with Late left-lateralised scalenes from 7100 BC; Historic England puts the Early/Late boundary at 7000 BC (run 012 c2-c3); the Ashmolean puts it at about 6000 BC (run 011 c2). 'Early Mesolithic' therefore does not mean the same span in each source, and the resource's Early Mesolithic is a stone-tool phase, not a calendar period.
This grounding is approved on 2026-10-12. Adds the typochronology resource (earliest assemblage type 9300-8300 BC) to the start-date conflict, and records that period-boundary conventions (11,000, 10,000, about 9600, 8800 BC) and modelled assemblage dates (9300 BC) measure different things, and that 'Early Mesolithic' spans differ between sources. Record as open; choose none.
Source claimc1 · confidence 1.0
The framework's introduction says the Mesolithic is generally defined as corresponding to the beginning of the Preboreal period (after the Younger Dryas) at about 9600 cal BC.
lines 3–5 of preserved source
at about 9600 cal BC
Source claimc2 · confidence 1.0
It says the Mesolithic finishes at about 4000 cal BC in Britain with the introduction of farming.
lines 5–6 of preserved source
finishes at about 4000 cal BC in Britain with the introduction of farming
Source claimc3 · confidence 1.0
It says the term 'Mesolithic' is a modern construct, coined in 1866, and that the boundaries of the period are rather fuzzy (citing Milner and Woodman 2005a).
lines 7–8 of preserved source
the boundaries of the period are rather fuzzy
Source claimc4 · confidence 1.0
It says that, despite the difficulty of defining a beginning and end, the Mesolithic spans roughly five and a half thousand years.
lines 28–29 of preserved source
spans roughly five and a half thousand years
Source claimc5 · confidence 1.0
It says the general consensus is that changes associated with the Neolithic occur at some point around 4000 cal BC, and that rod microlith sites may extend into the 4th millennium cal BC.
lines 18–22 of preserved source
the general consensus is that at some point around 4000 cal BC changes associated with the Neolithic occur
Source claimc6 · confidence 1.0
It says lithic styles allow a broad Early/Late assignment to stone tools, with the change occurring across the late 9th and 8th millennia cal BC.
lines 32–34 of preserved source
Early/Late assignment to stone tools, the change occurring across the late 9th and 8th millennia cal BC
Inferencec8 · confidence 0.8
The framework ties its start of the Mesolithic to the beginning of the Preboreal, so its 'about 9600 cal BC' is a climatic-boundary convention that the text itself describes as fuzzy, not an observed date for the first people or the first stone-tool assemblages. This is the text's own framing; it gives no radiocarbon or assemblage evidence for the 9600 figure in the passage supplied.
Inferencec10 · confidence 0.7
The framework's Early/Late change (late 9th and 8th millennia cal BC, roughly 8500-7000 cal BC at its widest reading) is a third placement of that division, beside Historic England (Early 10,000-7000, Late 7000-4000 BC) and the Ashmolean (Early about 9600-6000, Later about 6000-4000 BC). The framework describes a change across a span, not a boundary date.
This grounding is approved on 2026-10-12. Adds the checked ADS framework statements to the start-date conflict from run 001 p3: start about 9600 cal BC tied to the beginning of the Preboreal, end about 4000 cal BC, boundaries rather fuzzy, and an Early/Late change across the late 9th and 8th millennia cal BC (a third placement beside Historic England and the Ashmolean). Record as open; choose none.
Source claimc1 · confidence 1.0
The National Trust page gives the Mesolithic as c. 10,000-4000 BC.
line 11 of preserved source
Mesolithic (c. 10,000–4000 BC)
Source claimc2 · confidence 1.0
It gives the Palaeolithic as c. 800,000-10,000 BC and the Neolithic as c. 4000-2500 BC.
line 11 of preserved source
Palaeolithic (c. 800,000–10,000 BC)
Source claimc3 · confidence 1.0
It gives the whole Prehistoric Period as c. 800,000-2500 BC, split into three eras (Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic).
line 8 of preserved source
Prehistoric Period (c. 800,000–2500 BC)
Inferencec4 · confidence 0.8
The National Trust figures are given as BC with 'c.' and no calibration statement, as Historic England's are, so the paste does not say whether 10,000 BC is calendar years, calibrated years or a rounded convention.
This grounding is approved on 2026-10-12. Adds the checked National Trust figure (Mesolithic c. 10,000-4000 BC, no calibration statement) to the start-date conflict from run 001 p3, beside Historic England's identical figure. Record as open; choose none.
The register explicitly identifies incompatible framing between c. 11,000 BC and an alternative c. 8800 BC convention; canonical chronology should not silently choose one.
Approved · 2026-10-11 · chat
flag_conflict: Mesolithic start date. Records the conflict as open; it does not choose a start date.