A History of Cornwall - The Neolithic

[@heatherwoods360]

the Cornish name of St Michael's Mount being a survival from a time when sea levels were lower is mind blowing - it reminds me of how aboriginal Australian songlines still refer to islands that were submerged during the last ice age. it's amazing how much knowledge can be passed down through language and oral tradition. thanks for the knowledge! p.s. I love the music

[@thekernewekpenguin]

It's actually one of my favourite discoveries when I was researching the period for this video. Looking up the translation of the Cornish name and then realising what it actually means and when the lands flooded was incredible, I'm shocked more don't talk about the significance of it and the fact that, as you say just like the Aboriginals of Australia, oral tradition has kept that original name alive through multiple languages and cultures, from the end of the stone age to the present day. Makes you wonder how many other names are out there that we don't think about, which tell a story from long ago! Anyways, thanks for watching!

[@heatherwoods360]

I don't know if you're already onto this channel but Stefan Milo has a video called "maybe the oldest stories in the world" which talks about similar examples of oral tradition carrying down knowledge of ancient landscapes which has since been evidenced in modern geology and paleontology, if you're interested in that sort of thing!

[@stevepetherick5927]

Thank you for your work! 🙏🙏🙏

[@thekernewekpenguin]

Much appreciated, thanks for watching Steve!✨

[@lindafielding6733]

Thankyou for this interesting quick tour of Neolithic Kernow and great pics. However I struggled to listen as I found the music very distracting

[@terryhunt2659]

Everyone differs, but I didn't, and you could have switched on the Closed Captions.

[@thekernewekpenguin]

My pleasure and thanks for watching! As for the music, a lot of people have mentioned it, some liked it some didn't. For future videos I've lowered it, but I don't want to entirely remove it. Hopefully, it'll be easier to watch though, and I appreciate people's patience, I'm an archaeologist and a bit of a luddite when it comes to this stuff, but trying my best! 😁

[@proudfootco]

Great video and research- really informative! 👏 Also appreciate the mention of alehoof- such an under appreciated herb!

[@MPLS_Andy]

This is really well done and interesting. I'd love to see Cornwall some day. Keep it up!

[@thekernewekpenguin]

Thanks so much! As for Kernow, idk if you're in Britain or not but I always recommend September to people. Typically still lovely weather and temperatures, most tourists have left but seasonal businesses are often still open, and us locals are friendlier as the roads and streets are less heaving ;)

[@reubenjelley3583]

Lovely shots in the video. Thinking of on going traditions I do wonder how ancient May Day’s ‘Obby ‘Oss (Hobby Horse) as some sources are saying pre-Christian, others saying it’s a tall tale for the tourists. Got one in Padstow and here in Minehead. Also still Wassail our Orchards here, not sure if in Kernow too? Suggestion please always use migrant rather than immigrant.

[@thekernewekpenguin]

Never heard of this 'Obby 'Oss/Hobby Horse event but I did a brief look around for information and earliest recordings and from what I can tell it isn't recorded earlier than the 1800s (again, very brief look!) which would imply it's a more modern tradition and as you say it seems the story was made up for victorian tourists. That said it looks like an adorable tradition and one that absolutely gives character and identity to those places who celebrate it! Thanks for making me aware of it though, I've added it to a list of future topics as once I finish with these period overview videos, I can't wait to really delve into various aspects of Cornish culture and heritage, and who knows maybe having a more in-depth look into the tradition I might find it does have older origins or inspiration from pre-christian myths/celebrations than my brief look tonight uncovered ;) As for your suggestion, I've noted that down, thanks. I'm used to immigration being used as a term academically and within archaeology and anthropology (as well as migrant, both are used) but appreciate it can be a more loaded term today and I think history as a discipline does tend to prefer migrant!

[@FlyingLow_Productions]

Good video, very informative 👍 I was looking forward to seeing what footage you'd use lol

[@thekernewekpenguin]

Ahahaha thanks, it's appreciated! And thanks once again for giving me permission to use your footage! Given how on topic it was you can probably see why I was interested, and i'll be covering Roche Rock and Carn Brea in separate future videos of their own after I've finished this overview series, so you'll probably hear from me again in the future ;) Plus I obviously subscribed to all the kind channels allowing me to use footage both to support them, but also keep an eye on what footage you lovely drone operators are capturing next!

[@zworm2]

Very easily listened to. I enjoyed this and subscribed I studied Geology and spent some time looking at the geological history of the peninsula. It has always been isolated, even by the Romans. The soil is poor and shallow. Scratching a living hard but it makes for unique environment and people. I enjoy the Fish Locker channel and he explores the area also.

[@thekernewekpenguin]

We humans are so interesting, I often find the most unique and interesting cultures are found in some of the rougher and harsher environments of the world. Human adaptability and endurance knows no bounds, and whilst Cornwall isn't as extreme a place as some, it's still interesting to me how the identity and culture evolved to deal with its isolation, hardship in some areas like soil quality as you say, but also luck with others like the rich tin deposits! Thanks for watching and subscribing as well, it's much appreciated!

[@zworm2]

@@thekernewekpenguin Cornwall is pretty rough! I am from Scotland originally and it is most like some of the Orkney Isles and Western Isles. Open, barren few trees. Everywhere you stick a shovel...Rock

[@Donna230]

Truly enjoyable.

[@lilykatmoon4508]

I really liked this video. It was informative and was accompanied by such stunning graphics and music. Were the images in the video of the area you were describing in the video? I’m a former history teacher and have always been especially fascinated with prehistory. It’s weird how we’re taught that so many aspects of human history happened in some nice neat transition, when reality is so much more complex and nuanced. I especially loved the bit at the end where you showed the traces of the Neolithic that still survive to this day. I get shivers down my spine when I can picture those connections to the ancestors who lived so long ago. I love the BBC farm series of videos, and love when Professor Ronald Hutton shares things like that end of harvest tradition. Wonderful video. I’m definitely looking forward to watching more of your videos!

[@thekernewekpenguin]

Awww thanks so much I'm glad you enjoyed the video! And yes, most images and drone footage in the videos I try to keep as topical as possible (for footage it isn't always easy given Kernow is so niche but I have a small collection of lovely Drone KZbinrs that have given consent for me to use their beautiful footage and I recommend checking their channels out using the links in my description!). So when I name specific sites and I don't use images, then the video is of the sites. If I use images, then most likely the footage isn't of the sites but the images are. And when not using specific locations but general regions, I try to keep it topical - cliffs and sea for coastal topics, countryside and farmland for agriculture, etc! All from Kernow unless I mention other regions such as Hambledon Hill in this video, which is in Dorset! Yes exactly, it's an outdated way of viewing history - especially pre-history - and whilst academically views on these 'neat transitions' have shifted to something more fluid and nuanced, sadly in popular cultural and pre-university education things haven't quite caught up. I'm glad you enjoyed those aspects of the video, honestly my favourite discoveries when researching and I'm glad they've been well received, that connection to such a distant past and aspect of humanity is mind-boggling and comforting at once, to me. Thanks for the kind words, anyhow! :)

[@danielgray8243]

Good day to you as well

[@BenSHammonds]

the language of the Neolithic farmer is of much interest to me, this bit about the name was new to me and I very much enjoyed that it is known (the early name)

[@thekernewekpenguin]

I've said this to someone else but it was one of the stand out facts I came across, when looking for the translation of the cornish name and realising what it meant. Sadly I doubt we'll ever know what the languages of Britain in the Neolithic would've been like, as much as linguists try their best to speculate, but its wonderful that even if the language is long gone, the way those people saw the world can still be felt through archaic etymology like Karrek Loos yn Koos. Thanks for watching the video, anyhow!

[@BenSHammonds]

@@thekernewekpenguin is my pleasure

[@ThePalaeontologist]

Comment of appreciation for the tough Cornish geology (ooo, those Batholiths, ooo that Granite, ooo that good Schist, oh what lovely Serpentinite etc) helping to shield some rocks to the East of a more Sedimentary nature, from faster erosion rates. All the Granitic, Igneous and Metamorphic rocks in Cornwall help shield Great Britain from a lot of the energy of North Atlantic storms. The Lizard and Land's End is such a bulwark against the Atlantic. Technically the Batholiths there are older than the Atlantic (the Cornubian Batholith is Permian Period in vintage making it automatically >251.902 Ma for a start (and it's much older than that; more like ~280 Ma BP) The Atlantic began to open at the very end of the Late Triassic Period and the Early Jurassic Period (boundary at ~201.4 Ma) It spent the last 200 million years or so opening wider ever since, with the North Atlantic opening being a slower affair all told. There had once existed a once great mountain range, running vaguely horizontally across the Equator of Pangaea, the massive supercontinent of the Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic and Jurassic Periods. Being rather elderly by the time of the Late Triassic/Early Jurassic boundary, 140 million years after it had formed, it had eroded significantly, though was still a truly massive geological feature writ large over the planet. Although these mountains once towered high in the Carboniferous and somewhat into the Permian, rivalling the greatest mountains today, they were slowly but surely eroded and cut down to size, until all that remained of them were dry uplands peaks amid rolling deserts and aside rocky canyons, beside deep oceanic basins and intermontane valleys prime to be filled with the oceanic waters as the landmasses pulled apart. Pangaea had formed over ~335 Ma during the Carboniferous Period; but almost as soon as it did, tectonic forces were already, slowly, beginning to set in motion a process of rifting and the eventual separation of the Northern lands (predominantly, Laurentia; with Laurasia deriving from that later on) and the Southern lands (predominantly, Gondwana, sometimes known alternatively as Gondwanaland) The British Isles are largely the result of the combining of portions of the land mass of Avalonia in the South and sections of Laurentia to the North. For this reason, after the Atlantic Ocean opened, there were stretches of mountains in Britain (particularly Scotland) which line up near perfectly with correlated mountains in NE North America and the Appalachians, as well as aspects of the Alleghany/Alleghanian and Variscan orogenies (mountain building phases) reflected in the geology of now such far-flung places. As the Central Pangaean Mountain Range was rifted and torn apart, like a zipper opening, and rifting occurred along numerous basins and faults all along the way for thousands of miles, the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP Event) happened on a massive scale. It is likely responsible for a notable extinction event at the end of the Triassic Period, and seeing off some of the Dinosaur's early rivals like an array of Pseudosuchians which still were dominant ecologically across most of the Triassic in most places (though the Pseudosuchia still endure in their more derived forms; technically as do the Dinosaurs, at least, the Avian ones) There is a lot we still do not fully-understand about the beginning of the Jurassic, but we know a fair bit as it stands. It was quite the time. The fact that most Cornish Geology is considerably older than the Atlantic Ocean, is one of those things you kind of have to stop and think about as an Earth Scientist. Something as massive and seemingly boundless as the 2nd largest ocean on the planet, certainly feels like it should be every bit as ancient as the rocks, but it most certainly is younger than the majority of the Geology of Cornwall (and in all fairness, a whole lot of British Geology, which is _incredibly_ complex, for our geographical size on the face of things, is _much_ older than the Atlantic; though lots and lots of it is considerably younger than it, as well) We know the oldest Atlantic seabed around today is Early Jurassic. It occurred to geologists in a major sense in the mid 20th century after extensive work on the plate tectonics and the sea floor spreading given more of a spotlight in that particular time (though yes, a lot of that has origins going back into 19th century geological literature) The point being, we began to realise that these vast oceanic basins and seafloors are often much 'younger' by geological standards, as so much of the ocean floor is subducted and effectively melted (though there is a _lot_ more to it than that and it's more like lobes of oceanic crust stretching off like melting chocolate or sweets, into the Mantle, like a concertina fold rippling back over itself on a colossal scale as bits snap off and sink vertically hundreds of kilometres down) The fact the Atlantic Ocean was born in the Early Jurassic, reminds us that our planet is relentlessly dynamic, even when we're talking over a 200 million year timespan. By about ~175 Ma BP the islands of Europe had formed and on top of Triassic, Permian, Carboniferous and much older rocks, the seas rolled in an made places like what is now England, Germany and France, look like the Bahamas or the Seychelles (except with very different plants) Great deposits from the Early Jurassic can found in places like Lyme Regis, Charmouth and North Yorkshire, in sash-like diagonal bands running across Great Britain and far along the coasts. Granted, _a lot_ of much younger Cretaceous Period and Cenozoic Era sedimentary geology is abound across England especially. The London Clay, for instance, is about 54-50 Ma in age. Much of Southern England lacks the advantage of volcanic and basin rocks over 5 to 6 times older. Some of Scotland's rocks (e.g. the Lewisian Gneisses) are as much as ~2.9-3 Ga (Giga-annum; in context, billions of years old) Very ancient Metamorphic rocks (Zircon crystals could indicate much older rocks, with very old, reworked Zircons in Australia, dated to over ~4.4 Ga; aka 4,400 Ma) The British Coal Measures, primarily of Central & Northern England, Southern Wales and Southern Scotland (to briefly summarise a more complicated patchwork) are mostly ~315-307 Ma, with plenty of coal from further back in the Carboniferous, nearer to ~330 Ma, and some from more recently in the Carboniferous nearer to ~300 Ma. It fuelled the Industrial Revolution. The finest coal possible is Anthracite (aka >95% pure Carbon) is demonstrated by the likes of Welsh Anthracite. Well, I say >95%, but the lower quality forms of Anthracite can be as 'low' as ~86% Carbon, whereas the top grade Anthracite will hit between 95-97% Carbon in general. Most coal _that good_ (by sheer quantity mined) comes from outside the British Isles, but Welsh Anthracite could be considered some of the finest Anthracite Coal anywhere, because it has so few impurities and burns so clean (so much less smoke, and a white smoke even at that) It wouldn't be billowing dark smoke in great plumes. It was always and still is highly prized; up to 6 times more expensive than standard grades of coal with lots more impurities. Anthracite is the product of being subjected to Low Grade Metamorphism under immense pressure and at some considerable heat, getting compacted at over 5,000 metres deep. It often looks metallic in it's sheen, like a pencil "graphite", looking and even breaking in a sort of glassy way. It's the highest energy concentration form of coal. In truth, it's basically hyper-pressured, slowly metamorphosed regular coal. The British Empire used to feed a lot of Anthracite coal into it's steam engine locomotives and ships, for instance (though a lot of shipping companies opted to go cheaper at bulk, hence billowing black smoke most of the time using cheaper, less pure coal) 'Culm', is a Cornish and Devonian (by which I mean the county, not the geological period named after it) 'Imperfect Anthracite', which has a tint of different colour (than black) e.g. a slightly blue tint (I think, or perhaps somewhat red depending on the mineral impurities) , which was used as a paint powder for a very long time (likely going back to Neolithic times - ??) It is still the case that a lot of different coastal erosion is going on, but the sheer strength of those rocks makes for more of a fight of it, time wise. It will still take a lot longer than we have to erode those cliffs. Being most fond of the Mesozoic Era, I'm glad that the fossiliferous rocks to the East, along the Jurassic Coast of Southern England, get a bit of a shielding effect from the South-West. It might just be taking the sting out of things and the waves still lash the coast all the way up the English Channel, of course, and all around the British Isles. But the Isles of Scilly and the Lizard Peninsula etc must take something out of those Atlantic storms. [part 1/2; part 2 in reply to myself below]

[@ThePalaeontologist]

[part 2/2 - sorry, getting there lol] Geological evidence across the British Isles proves how bits and pieces of the British Isles were slowly moved, fused and melted through together, in the form of tectonic plate movement, batholithic igneous intrusions and of course, orogenesis (mountain building) So many of Cornwall's beautiful Devonian and Carboniferous rocks are heavily folded as a result of multiple phases of ancient, Palaeozoic Era vintage tectonic movements and the colliding of continents. There are many keenly folded, 'concertina'd' and metamorphosed rock layers all around Cornwall. That zig-zagging in the rock strata and the numerous igneous rocks. It's all quite spectacular, albeit, slightly barren for a palaeontologist. Not many fossils originally part of Sedimentary Rock deposits can survive what processes happen in Metamorphic Geology. Lava/magma never really was conducive to fossil preservation, though volcanic eruption layers and the necessary radioisotopes can help indicate the approximate age of a rock layer. Various phases of impact zones/crumple zones during this or that tectonic activity for hundreds of millions of years. Ultimately, there are comparatively limited things a palaeontologist can find of any note in most rock strata in Cornwall, because those rocks were not great for preserving fossils. A Granite Batholith is literally this huge plume of magma which ascends, melting and metamorphosing the rocks around it, being what is known as an Igneous Intrusive, Plutonic rock, moving up and deforming the strata above. Cornwall is more of a Geologist's paradise. To be fair, Britain has a remarkable patchwork of it, from Limestone Karst Landscapes from the Carboniferous in Derbyshire, to the far younger, Cretaceous Period vintage, calcareous White Cliffs of Dover. There are so many interesting geological features around the UK (e.g. Durdle Door, Whin Sill and the Lizard Peninsula and Lizard Complex) The Great Glen Fault. So much stuff going on. When I was at college, I studied Archaeology, Classical Civilisation, Geology and Geography. Part of me wanted to pursue a career in Archaeology. I decided to go into Palaeontology as that was and is my life passion. However, Archaeology is often conflated with Palaeontology as it is indeed a close sister-subject. A lot of people call Palaeontologists, Archaeologists. In reality, there is a moot difference in context to what those words mean. There are particular, overlaps, in the field. Most Archaeologists work within the last 5,000 years. Some can go back way, way further, beyond recorded History. Inevitably, there are overlaps between the Palaeontologists, Anthropologists, Palaeoanthropologists and Archaeologists proper. No one of any of those fields is exactly the same. Everyone has their specific or generalised favourites. In a way, Cornwall's Neolithic past is as interesting to me as it's Geology, however, for the Palaeontology, it's not got a great deal compared to other, more fossil-rich regions of the UK. It's largely just the way of things in Geological Deep Time. Some rock strata are changed or destroyed, eroded away, subducted etc. Others are much newer. It feels curious to think of the Atlantic Ocean being about four times older than the majority of strata (mostly Palaeocene/Eocene clays) under London. It feels jarring to imagine the long beleaguered rocks of Land's End and the Isles of Scilly, being considerably older than the waves themselves. But then again, are not the waves such an ephemeral thing? Some oceans are much younger than the Atlantic. Some are older. The Mediterranean has come and gone multiple times as the Straits of Gallipoli closed. Italy has practically endless salt deposits because the Mediterranean repeatedly dried up into vast salt pans. Thousands of feet of it, enough to last a mechanised industry literally millions of years. Britain has things like the Cheshire Salt and other remains of the Zechstein Sea, a Permian, inland sea, not too dissimilar to the Black Sea or the Sea of Galilee. Very saline, heavy, low-lying stuff. The intensity of the Permian desertification and aridification, over 252 Ma, meant that the last remnants of the Zechstein Sea dried up. The same happened to an American inland sea called the Sundance Sea in the Mid-Late Jurassic Period. So much has happened over such a span of time. The Dinosaurs (non-Avian) were around from at least 233 Ma to 66 Ma (around for 167 million years) Dominant for over 140 million years in most terrestrial environs. If you were stood in the Bathonian Age, 166 Ma BP, looking forward, you'd have 100 million years left to go in the Mesozoic Era. Behind you, back to the first known Dinosaurs (from SE Brazil; Santa Maria Formation) there would be another 67 million years - a million years longer than the timespan between the Present Day, and the last non-Avian Dinosaurs of the Maastrichtian Age (the 30th and final Geological Age of the Mesozoic Era; 7 Triassic, 11 Jurassic and 12 Cretaceous) The first Dinosaurs of the Carnian Age Triassic, were a million years more ancient to the Middle Jurassic Dinosaurs of circa 166 Ma BP, than the last Cretaceous Dinosaurs are to us. Deep Time has a lot of major realisations like that. By Vertebrate standards, the Dinosaurs were around for an enormous span of time. It's part of why I could never focus so long on Archaeology, because of this titanic span of time stretching off into the prehistoric eras. I was always more interested in the fossils than the rocks, as well. Every palaeontologist is a biologist as well as a geologist, automatically. The immensity of Deep Time can be difficult to come to terms with or comprehend (properly) without getting overwhelmed and so daunted by it all. But if you start to see the patterns and the flow of time, you can start to relate to it and convey it in a comprehensible manner. It's part of science communication and the challenge that has with explaining such matters without sort of, getting lost in the forest of it all, so speak. It can feel like our time on Earth is too short to ever get close to it. We stand on the shoulders of giants whom pushed the science forward and achieved immense things, which help us build a greater record of Deep Time. It is for that very reason, we know Cornish Granites are older than the Atlantic Ocean, and long, long ago (~200 million years ago), there'd have been a time when the aspects of the American landmasses were just over the way, across a short span of volcanically active, tectonically active, tempestuous water, between the landmasses. It would, as I said, have been quite the time. ... P.S. - Sorry for the essay, just got me thinking. The sacrifice of the Cornish rocks helps shield much softer rocks to the East. In a nerdy palaeontological way, I always liked that the Cornish rocks were shielding Britain and taking the umph out of the Atlantic Storms, bearing their brunt, along with Ireland of course, further North. Scotland, too. The British Isles would be a lot smaller without that geology, standing in the way of the waves.

[@thekernewekpenguin]

I daresay your comments could've been a video all on their own, and they have intrigued me! As an archaeologist, I have a peripheral knowledge of geology as you'd expect but nothing too crazy so a lot of this I didn't know. It's made me want to do a particularly nerdy video at some point on the formation of the Kernowek (Cornish) landscape and how it fits into the wider present-day British morphology and topology! I can't imagine how long it took you to write those down and I do feel as though nothing I write here will be sufficient, but I'm genuinely appreciative of your taking the time to do so and am flattered that my videos could inspire your very nerdy essay ;) Meur ras!

[@ThePalaeontologist]

@@thekernewekpenguin You're welcome, and it's all good. I just felt like contributing that in case any of it was new to you. I liked your video and it is the first of yours I have seen. Cornwall will always have a place in my heart, although, I'm a Northerner. The fact of the matter is, for my interests in Palaeontology, Cornwall isn't great because of the abundance of Igneous and Metamorphic rocks. And most of those are considerably older than the Jurassic, in context as per British Geology. I would recommend the book by Cornish Geologist, (Godfrey) Simon Camm, titled, 'The Geology and Landscape of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly' (Pocket Cornwall), which I believe was from around 2011. That gives a very helpful overview of different regions of Cornwall. It's a nice introduction and summary to Cornish Geology as you'd expect but it is also more accessible to the layman not just other geoscientists. A nice read. There are some aspects of Geology which do matter in context to Archaeology. For instance, many major civilisations will develop along rivers and their associated floodplains. There are some rocks, minerals, precious stones and semi-precious stones, which are intrinsically important to different cultures. Think of Jade (Jadeite) and it's related mineral known as Nephrite. Variants of those two have been very important in places (and times) like Neolithic Britain, Jōmon Culture era Japan (a very long time ago as well) and the time of the Olmec civilisation in Mesoamerica, circa 1,200 BCE - 400 BCE. The Egyptians worked with a variety of common to precious stones, and at particular points, in especially wealthy segments of their society, were capable of great works of art (although my Archaeology teacher always warned the class to be very wary and cognizant of the false impression the uppermost ruling classes and their lavish luxuries, skewing our view of the average Ancient Egyptian; most would have lived in mud brick hovels, walking barefoot and wearing simple fabrics, down by the Nile, living hand to mouth, doing intensive labour just to get by. The glittering imagine of King Tut's sarcophagus and the gold and lazurite splendour of the Pharaonic dynasties, can be distracting. Even so, from a geological standpoint, the very mud of the Nile riverbanks is perhaps just as relevant and interesting as the limestone blocks and Aswan Granite of the Great Pyramids. The silty muds of the Nile, made it possible for life and civilisation to thrive on a grand scale. That was the real life blood of their civilisation, besides the water itself. And drift deposits (unlithified aka not made into rocks yet) are still part of the story of the geological cycle. One day, the muds of the Nile will be lithified into true mudstones and so on. Some probably already are or are on the way to being so. I type pretty fast when I'm going with the flow and I feel like writing, so it wasn't _that_ long. I happened on your video a couple of days ago and made the comments on the same day. They amount to a couple of thousand words all told which isn't that bad. I tend to write long-form. The max limit for individual comments tends to be about ~1,600-1,650 words I've noticed (sometimes it's a little more) I had to split my comment in half. I mostly tend to type the whole thing how I mean it to look spacing wise in the way I paragraph, then copy it back out, and paste it into a word processor just to see the word count if it won't post (an error message/error lettering in red, will show if you exceed the word/character/line limit but it's not ever explained that way, but it is what it is without it saying so. It may seem a bit daft to just use the word processor to check the word count but it's just how I tend to do it. I find it more jarring to open the word processor up to then type into that weirdly, and I've lost a few essays over the years by misclicking and going on a different video etc (lol, it is very annoying and gutting at that moment; doesn't happen often though, I tend to avoid such accidents but yeah that is pretty grim if it does happen ha feels like stepping on a plug XD *e m o t i o n a l d a m a g e* manly tears hah. In any case, I was in a rather reflective mood, constantly thinking about Deep Time and it's implications. Guess I was just in the right mood to comment. Another day I might have been too jaded to comment in a more distant mood, but there you go. Admittedly I was more hoping to add to your own knowledge of a land you clearly love. I love Cornwall too, but am not Cornish. Always nice to see any Archaeology video about Cornwall. But where Archaeology goes, so does Geology. It can't help but ponder it. I wonder if you've been to Chysauster. I would hazard a guess you probably have. Pre-Roman Iron Age to Roman era stuff. Nice place to visit on a run to Mousehole via Penzance. As I say, you likely know more about it than I do. Even though Cornwall is pretty disappointing for a palaeontologist (in most of the rocks available), for obvious, Igneous and Metamorphic reasons, the Geology is simply too impressive not to have a major beneficial influence on British Geology elsewhere. I think it'd be fair to say that the mainland of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are like Britain's shield in the South West. They absorb and deflect so much of the fury of the Atlantic Storms. In the end, short of the Atlantic Ocean closing (it won't be, any time even remotely soon; see you in a bagillion years to see anything like that), the Cornish Geology will eventually be worn down to the waterline. Eventually, the waves shall win through. I'd hazard a guess that it will be more likely the Atlantic closes before the last of the coastal Cornish Granites are worn down. It's an encouraging thing. It's a level of coastal erosion defence most of the rest of the British coast can't get close to.

[@ChrisShortyAllen]

@@ThePalaeontologist You are ruling out other factors. Plate tectonics make your erosion theory irrelevant.

[@megapixies]

As I understand, all of the arrowheads found on Carn Brea were found together in one location; the inference being no evidence of a conflict. they weren’t distributed far and wide by being shot defensively…

[@thekernewekpenguin]

Obviously as with anything archaeological there's much debate, but current thinking is that there was conflict towards the end of the Neolithic occupation of the site, not quite a war in the modern sense but a single small scale conflict event. The arrowheads are largely concentrated on one wall but have been found on several areas as well, and many shows signs of breaking, as if having been fired at hard surfaces rather than animals. Indeed others we can say concretely had been embedded in wall or fired at rock. The site is also associated with mass burning of timber buildings and whilst this doesn't on its own mean a conflict, it's often been argued that the raid or violent altercation and the burning of the site are of the same event. And having read many papers, field reports, discussions and studies that seems to be the current consensus and certainly one I support. At the end of the day the site has been criminally under investigated and under studied, as with much of Kernow's heritage. So many of these debates may have more concrete answers waiting for us to discover.

[@richardsheehan6983]

Yes.

[@johnh539]

If there is one part of the uk that might have had Mesolithic trade with essentially Mediterranean cultures it's Cornwall. As you say there is little Mesolithic archelogy but I would be interested in hearing what you think about the deep maritime history of Cornwall?

[@naradaian]

The Time Team digs in headlands and peninsula’s are on uTube and have covered this for a public audience, but really you are a long way back from known facts about Cornish folks Trading AND being the first port of call for cross channel coastal ships journeying all the way to the far northern scottish island cultures

[@thekernewekpenguin]

It's unlikely trade would've been directly with the Mediterranean cultures from Kernow, but *if* there was maritime trade and contact, and evidence does suggest there was in the Mesolithic just as elsewhere in Southern Britain, it likely would've been with peoples in modern-day Scilly, Brittany, and Northern France, potentially also Southern Wales but that's conjecture. I will be delving a lot into the maritime heritage of Kernow the closer we get to the present day. After I've done all the period overview videos I'll then start covering a huge range and breadth of topics spanning all sorts of periods, including more maritime history. But broadly, we can say something resembling Kernow's more modern maritime heritage starts verifiably occurring in the Neolithic and especially the Bronze Age as Tin began to be mined, smelted, and exported to Europe. Thanks for watching, anyways! :)

[@hedgehog3180]

You're a bit like Cambrian Chronicles, I hope your channel can grow just as much.

[@thekernewekpenguin]

Wow very kind words, thanks! I am actually a subscriber of them! Unsurprisingly I jumped at the chance to learn some niche Welsh history xD Honestly I'm overwhelmed (in a good way) by how many people have come to my channel so far - was expecting a much slower start, so I can't complain!

[@hedgehog3180]

@@thekernewekpenguin I wouldn't be surprised if like me a lot of people who are already subscribed to Cambrian Chronicles got your videos recommended.

[@cernunnos100]

Great script. You don't need the music.

[@malthus101]

the music's good - like being inside a world building game!

[@williamchamberlain2263]

The Cornish neolithic : 20,000BC - 1965

[@johnstringer5359]

Good video but music. Distracting and irritating

[@harrydebastardeharris987]

Yes the music is irritating and distracting enough to end video.

[@MrJimtimslim]

Agreed, the audio of the voice over is poor too and the music is too loud. Switched off. Look at other successful videos of this genre

[@thekernewekpenguin]

Ahaha, as an archaeologist I can be a bit of a luddite and I'm still getting to grips with video making! Some people like the music some don't, that much is clear after this video blew up but I can appreciate it may have been too loud in videos up to this point and a tad distracting, regardless of whether people did or didn't. so hopefully it's at a much better level in my future videos and likewise, my narration is more clear and audio. Thanks for watching and I appreciate the patience and feedback though I hope you'll give future videos another chance to see if it's better! :) P.S. I also have accurate subtitles I wrote for these videos, rather than auto-translated, so do feel free to use those if that helps. I know myself personally I prefer having them on regardless for any educational video as it helps me focus and absorb better but, obviously, everyone has their own preferences!

[@AdamMorganIbbotson]

@@thekernewekpenguinThe music was fine, just a little too loud. As a rule, music should be -40 decibels in your edit, while the voice sits around -6 decibels. Hope that makes some sense, but your editing software should tell you the d range.

[@davevalentine7442]

Cornwall my home

[@daniellewis3750]

My second home

[@beabarber4300]

Being Cornish by birth, though living in Australia, I'm interested in the survival of rituals like the Furry Dance (I'm qualified to take part) - is there any information about how this came to be?

[@thekernewekpenguin]

That's awesome you're qualified to take part, I definitely would love to partake one day. I'm gone now but grew up partly in Mullion, near Helston, and so have seen the dance once or twice when we visited for Flora Day! And it is actually on my list of future topics to cover on the Channel, once I've finished with the Period Overview videos! Off the topic of my head I don't but as with most of these types of customs I doubt there's clear-cut information on when or how it started (normally it's very mirky with lots of conflicting accounts/myths), I do know it traces its heritage back to at least around the 1800s and when I do a video I'm looking forward to delving into the history of the dance and discovering more about its origins. Thanks for watching, btw!

[@beabarber4300]

@@thekernewekpenguin The 'Floral Dance' is very much Victorian and is considerably cleaned up from the original. The original Furry Dance I understand is a pagan survival from very early times. I was told it was first mentioned in monkish records around 800 AD. The format is interesting. Several groups of 4-8 dancers (young/teenage girls) dressed in white with coloured ribbons and a flower wreath of the flowers in bloom in May dance in foursquare formation in and out of all the houses and shops in the main street. This brings luck and good fortune to each premises they visit. Then everyone goes to the aerodrome for a big party with a bonfire and lots of food/grog and whatever (for those old enough). A classic Spring festival. For a long time it was utterly forbidden for cameras to record the actual dancing - don't know if that still applies but you might need to be tactful when researching. Back when I was a girl, anyone that produced a camera would be pounced on and thrown down to the ground by the adult males in the crowd and made to pay a fine or beaten up pretty badly. The Dance was private to the locals of the town - foreigners/outsiders were NOT encouraged. Apparently the BBC wanted to do a documentary on it back in the 60s, but the locals utterly refused to permit them to do so. En masse. I qualify for the dance because I was born in Redruth which is within the catchment area for choosing the dancers. I'm far too old now, the actual dancers have to be pre-marriage age. It's a great compliment to be asked to participate. The steps are traditional and so is the tune they dance to.

[@balls9420]

Amazing video once again.

[@garrymartin6474]

Interesting stuff , but "spirit of the corn" celebrations around or involving the last of the grain harvested are still practiced across the wider UK, just not with same name. The survival of the original name of St. Michaels Mount is astounding !

[@thekernewekpenguin]

Yes, absolutely true, End-of-harvest traditions are important everywhere and typically are of a bygone age. This one in particular though is quite interesting as it's theorised to trace its heritage right the way back to Eastern Europe and the arrival of farming, as I mentioned (though I'm sure other specific harvest traditions around the world can trace their heritage to this time too, I do still find it fascinating this one has survived likely intact, especially given it didn't actually originate in what is now Kernow). And yes, I said to someone else as well but the fact little linguistic nuggets like that can survive changing multiple languages and cultures (after all Kernowek would not have existed as a language in the Neolithic) makes you wonder how many more are out there in the world to tell tales of bygone times, and it surprises me not much attention is given to this fact, even by official heritage and tourist boards for the site. You basically have to put two and two together both knowing what the landscape of the original site was before sea levels rose and the translation of the Kernowek name for it. Anyways, I'm rambling hahaha, thanks for watching the video! :D

[@richardh8082]

Very good. Needs microphone upgrade

[@timflatus]

If you must anglicise "Kernow" wouldn't "Kernewic" be a better adjective? (like "Cambric") "Kernowian" just sounds weird.

[@thekernewekpenguin]

It's not Anglicising hahaha but easy mistake to make! The Cornish language adjectives are Kernowek if referring to the language itself (like 'I speak Kernowek'), and Kernowyon if referring to something being Cornish (like a person or a building). I appreciate it may sound awkward to an English language ear, certainly it did to mine, however that's kind of true with many languages hearing another language's way of saying something. Hope that clears things up! ☺

[@timflatus]

@@thekernewekpenguin I'm used to Kernowyon being used specifically for Cornishman/men, Kernewes for Cornishwoman, I've never heard it used to describe a building (learn something new every day), you seemed to be using it rather indiscriminately and I think its usage is more specific to ethnicity. Kernowek is the general adjective (SWF spelling) as in "Th'era vy clappya Kernowek" I have seen it spelled all sorts of ways in older texts. Yn kler.

[@thekernewekpenguin]

@@timflatus Hmmm, this might be one of those things where there may be disagreement given it's a largely revived language with all the disinformation that follows, in that case. I had a lot of people correct me after using Kernowek on previous videos as what you are saying was actually my initial assumption, and looking into the word it did seem like there was mixed consensus on whether to use Kernowek, Kernowyon, or indeed other words, to describe Cornish 'things' and a general adjective replacement for the English 'Cornish'. Definitely in the older texts it would've been spelled in all sorts, just like any old/Medieval form of a language the standardisation either hadn't happened yet or, if it technically had, wasn't 100% followed. It seems like you know what you're talking about so if you have any books or sources that show this, a recommendation would be much appreciated. I suspect whichever word I use I'll get people correcting me, so using the correct word(s) is my priority, and sorting that earlier rather than later is important, but as someone who doesn't speak Kernowek and sadly no longer lives there, the conflicting information online has been a frustrating roadblock to say the least. I'll look into it more in the meantime and appreciate your correction, but just be aware it isn't the first correction I've received, and would like to avoid a back-and-forth spiral on the terms used ;)

[@timflatus]

@@thekernewekpenguin I'm genuinely asking the question. I think the difficulty is in code switching - using Cornish terms in an English sentence - that makes it sound confusing. The Cornish grammar only properly applies to the Cornish. Shame we don't have Craig Weatherhill to ask any more.

[@thekernewekpenguin]

@@timflatus In that case my honest answer is I am not 100% sure. The answers I've found through reading and online have been mixed. That said of the instances I found of Kernowek, the vast majority were used in relation to the language itself, or of people and institutions regarding the language. Whereas those I found of Kernowyon were more broad and seemed to be used to refer to Cornishmen and the ethnicity, as you say, but also objects and foods. The main problem though is either usage in this way could be misuse/disinformation. I sent emails out a year ago and never got responses to some, whilst others were unsure. I might try again though and see if I can have better luck. I do appreciate though that using any language mixed with English will never be fully accurate and that's true for Kernowek too. However, that was a deliberate choice on my part to help normalise and spread awareness of the language without confusing people too much or using too much Cornish for it to be exclusionary. Indeed one of the things I noticed very quickly when moving to England for university a few years back was that, when the topic of Kernow's distinct identity came up, spreading awareness of the language was the quickest and easiest way to convince them of Kernow as a separate cultural identity rather than a regional English identity, pique their interest and even learn many terms and words and thus doing so in my videos is for this purpose, albeit not fully accurate to use in that way as you say. Fully agree RE: Mr. Weatherhill though. His works have been some of my go-to sources when starting research on a topic or period before delving into academic papers and studies. I wish I'd started this whilst at uni, when he was still with us, as it would've been much better to consult him directly on the matter!

[@waynemcauliffe-fv5yf]

Did the Irish go there much mate after the Romans left like they did in Wales?

[@thekernewekpenguin]

Yep they absolutely did! Though Kernow (well, Dumnonia at the time which also includes Devon) was more concerned with the Saxon expansion, the Irish also raided the Cornish coasts. In fact between the Irish raids and the Saxon invasions, this is what led many Cornish people to themselves invade Brittany (at the time Amorica) and establish several petty Kingdoms.

[@waynemcauliffe-fv5yf]

@@thekernewekpenguin Ta. I think the Romans settled a lot of Irish in Wales to keep other Irish out

[@thekernewekpenguin]

@@waynemcauliffe-fv5yf I believe they did, yeah! They did a similar thing with the Cornish and other British tribes on France's coastline to keep the Germanic raiders at bay.

[@waynemcauliffe-fv5yf]

@@thekernewekpenguin Love your work mate

[@malthus101]

Great video - keep going! Imagine how interesting the diet could be using all the things found natively to this and other regions in Britain. It's a crying shame that Britain is regarded as a joke culinarily. It's fair, but it shouldn't be this way - we have so much variety and skilled people. But a lazy population who prefer convenience.

[@thekernewekpenguin]

Thanks so much! Hahaha well it's funny you bring that up, I used to work for a traditional British Drinks Lounge (Proudfoot & Co.) and that's the whole premise of the place, sustainability and cuisine heritage using produce and recipes that used to be commonplace in Britain. It's actually a crying shame, British cuisine used to be just as good as any other. Sadly when the Empire comes about it gets associated with poverty and people become desperate to import foreign cuisine so it dies out quickly! But yes plenty of native stuff like Alehoof, Alexanders, mugwort, sweetgale, regional tubers, sloes, cobnuts, etc. that would be wonderful for us to reconnect to!

[@malthus101]

@@thekernewekpenguinOh man, just the names of those things sound so good! We should be world leaders in cuisine... instead people mock us for fish n' chips, baked beans and bad bangers. TIme for change...

[@KernowekTim]

Splann🏴‍☠

[@kernow..exp.]

You got to live here and be Cornish to totally understand it

[@thekernewekpenguin]

Not necessarily imo. Many people connect to and understand their heritage and ancestry in other countries, and many proud Cornish folk like myself have had to leave due to economic woes within the Duchy. And if we're being completely honest, Cornish nationalism is sadly nowhere near the level of Irish, Scottish, or even Welsh nationalism, so there are, unfortunately, many Cornish people who live there and very much don't understand their culture or heritage fully. All these reasons are why I created this channel and make videos when I can. To provide a way for those people to better connect with their heritage. I confess I don't understand the relevance of this comment under the video though hahaha but if you're referring to me then rest assured I'm Cornish (well, Cornish-Egyptian) and only left for university to study Archaeology.

[@barleyarrish]

an archeologist said to me a few years ago, 'if you want to know about pre history, don't ask an achaelogist'.

[@thekernewekpenguin]

Ahaha i'm sure they were being very tongue in cheek ;) In all seriousness, though, the main problem with earlier pre-history is a lot of it was until recently very educated guesswork and still today the trends we pick up can be biased by the evidence that's survived or the studies we've undertaken so far. That said, advances in scientific study and the movement of archaeology towards being a STEM subject as well as a social science have meant that the theories and conclusions we come to now are more verifiable and accurate than ever before!

[@barleyarrish]

@@thekernewekpenguin No she was not being tongue in cheek, she was dead serious. We had a long and very interesting conversation on the subject. I am retired from a branch of science which suffers in just the same way. The similarities in dogma clinging and political infiltration are only productive in terms of controlling a narrative, which is very favourable for obtaining funding for research. The 'woke' agenda has yet to fully engage with archaeology, but it looks enevitable as the NT already has black knights in Armour on our heritage castles.

[@ChrisShortyAllen]

@@barleyarrish What rubbish! Narrative? Name one archaeologist that fits your cringe worthy gibberish. Thanks

[@janesda]

I couldn't make out the text in the figures.

[@kernowbysvyken5600]

Would these be celts

[@thekernewekpenguin]

Not yet, we're still a few thousand years away from Celtic genetics and culture entering Britain. I go into this a bit more in my next video, but modern day Brits share very little genetic heritage with these Neolithic farmers. But some of their practices will get adopted by later invaders and settlers.

[@naradaian]

I have heard little good news about the rapid disappearance of out Neolithics ancestors….most surmise it was fast and victorious…some suggest starvation and disease lowered the pop and the next invaders just walked into largely empty lands

[@TontonMacoute]

Do we have to have fiddle music? I think not.

[@Kernowmafia123]

shall we all put into a big bit of land togher and go back to this lifestyle and abandon the mondern day im kernow born n bred

[@morvil73]

The first vowel in “Kernow” is not so much pronounced with the vowel in “girl”, but rather like the vowel in “air” with the R pronounced. The “ow” at the end can be like a sequence of short “o” in “pot” followed by short “u” in “put”, or as a longish “aw”-sound: [ˈkɛɹnɒː] “KAIRnaw”…

[@stephanieyee9784]

That horrendous music is so distracting. I couldn't watch the whole video because of the music and the "tinny" commentary.

[@thekernewekpenguin]

I've replied to some others on this note haha but thanks for watching and giving feedback. Some people like the music and some don't, this has become clear to me. That said, I do appreciate the volume of it may have been a bit high and distracting, vice versa my narration a bit too low. I'm an archaeologist, not a film professional so I'm still getting to grips with everything editing wise, but I've made changes to the audio levels for future videos and hope you'll give them a try and see if it's better. regarding the tinny commentary, I'm also working on audio editing to fix some of that, but a certain amount is simply due to my mic. Until I can invest in a more professional setup, I can only apologise and work with what I've got. That said I hope people can look past it for the time being and appreciate the core content of the videos!

[@biggerthanacadillac]

Cut the fiddling....ruins an otherwise informative & interesting article. Concentration became impossible.

[@thekernewekpenguin]

Ahaha well thanks for giving the video a try. Some people like the music and some don't, I've definitely learned as much after the video released. That said, I do appreciate the volume of it may have been a bit high and distracting vice versa my narration a bit too low. I'm an archaeologist not a film professional so I'm still getting to grips with everything, but I've made changes to the audio levels for future videos and hope you'll give them a try and see if it's better. Thanks for the feedback, though, it's appreciated! And as an aside, if it helps I have manually typed subtitles so they're accurate, unlike the usual auto-translate stuff. I personally prefer to have them on with educational videos anyway as I find I can absorb things better, and it's all personal preference, but you may find that helps as well!

[@peterallman8474]

Couldn't stay long (2 minutes), suddenly became annoyed by the music. A shame.

[@andrewashmore2276]

Please stop with the BCE

[@thekernewekpenguin]

It's become much more common in British, and I believe wider global, archaeological practice to use BCE and CE and indeed is what I studied under. At the end of the day, both BCE + CE and BC + AD are accepted dating formats to use and refer to the same calendar so it comes down to personal preference. Apologies if it bothers you and I hope you'll be able to overlook it and enjoy the videos as it's but a small part of them, however, I do simply prefer using them and a lot of non-Christian academics, cultures, and audiences find it more palatable to use. Think of it like GMT vs UTC in popular usage. Both can be used to colloquially refer to the same thing, but UTC is less Anglo-Centric and thus preferred by much of the world, even though in common usage it refers to the same thing, so outside of official use, again it comes down to personal preference and cultural norms. :)

[@morvil73]

You did fine on the pronunciation of “Carrek Loos yn Coos”, only the “oo” is pronounced with a long vowel and the “s” in “loos” and “coos” is pronounced as a voiced “z” sound. The “e” in “carrek” is the central schwa sound and can lean towards a “eh” or “ah” quality: [ˈkærːɐk luːz ɛŋ kuːz] or “Carrack looz en cooz”.

[@thekernewekpenguin]

Interesting, thanks for letting me know! Glad to see I did alright, I figured there was no point beating around the bush ahaha! Although I grew up in Kernow, mostly my understanding of Kernowek is the same as everyone else's - a few key words and phrases but pronounced and used as if it were English. Trying to get better now I'm making a KZbin channel on Kernowek heritage and culture however I can't help but wonder how much different a position I might've been in had we taught even the basics of the language just within Primary Schools in Kernow...