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TSMC and China: Mutually assured destruction now measured in nanometers, not megatons

Doctor Syntax Silver badge

Ah. Someone from the TWAI* school of archaeology.

Back in the '60s there was this growing tendency to decry any explanation of a cultural change that involved an invasion. Undoubtedly the explanation was used too freely and led to ideas such as deriving Irish passage graves from the Pyramids (C14 dating scotched that one by reversing the chronology). I think there was also a psychological element - the main proponents were people who'd been threatened with, experienced or taken part in invasions during WWII and now had antipathy to them. Personally I was never convinced that, for example, all those bronze swords were simply distributed by peace-loving arms salesmen who'd never be tempted to use their own products.

The argument seemed to be that you couldn't invoke an invasion without there being a contemporary written account. That worried me on the basis that by definition there couldn't have been a prehistoric invasion anywhere because pre-historic periods are those with no written history. Since we have had a written record we have had multiple invasions in all direction between Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland (or Pictlland if you prefer**) and been threatened with invasion by or invaded most parts of continental Europe within reach to say nothing of colonising*** numerous other parts of the world. Given that record the idea of a long prehistoric period of peaceful acculturation with no invasions seemed quite incredible. Yet the notion stuck.

More recently, however, DNA has started to reveal that we did have a series of incursions. One, which I found particularly interesting, was between Bronze Age and Iron Age. Looking at my own and other sites in N Ireland there was evidence of particularly intense forest clearance - tree pollen levels comparable with modern times - which I rather thought matched George Eogan's Later Bronze Age phases followed up by very complete regeneration for several centuries. There was then gradual clearance/reoccupation in the Iron age with a very distinct break between. The dendrochronologists backed up the intense LBA clearance - sub-fossil oak of that period becomes very scarce.

OK I should have said the area currently occupied by the UK and the Republic of Ireland. You should note, however, that "British Isles" is terminology you introduced.

* My own abbreviation for for There Wasn't An Invasion.

** The Scots, having come from Ireland.

*** As have several other European countries

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