Powerful plants in the British Mesolithic

Barry Taylor (University of Chester)
This paper explores the liveliness of vegetal life in the past. Drawing on a series of case studies
from the British Mesolithic, it argues that plants became entangled in the lives of humans
through their physical properties, the particular ways in which they grew, and their ongoing
interactions with other forms of life. This entanglement transformed the lives of humans,
structuring the timing and character of a suite of different economic and cultural practices.
What is more, humans were aware of this ‘plant-agency’, which they acknowledged through
particular ways of using, treating and depositing plant-based materials.