Acceptance of ritual as a valid interpretation of Mesolithic behaviour has slowly emerged over the past decade; the ‘silly season’ heralded by Mellars (Antiquity 83:502–517, 2009) has not materialised, though in Ireland and Britain difficulties persist in defining what might constitute ‘ritual’ away from the graveside. New discoveries from both the development-led and academic sectors enable Mesolithic archaeologists to better establish which elements of the archaeological record can be interpreted as ritual. This paper seeks to identify further strands of ritual behaviour, incorporating evidence from sites without organic remains. We consider the evidence for ritual at the site and feature scales, and in the special treatment of objects—an often overlooked body of data in understanding ritual. Thus the material signature of ritual will be questioned, and ways in which Mesolithic ritual can be rehabilitated and expanded will be explored.

中文翻译：

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在中石器时代的英国和爱尔兰举行仪式：在临时材料记录中确定仪式行为

在过去的十年中，逐渐接受仪式作为对中石器时代行为的有效解释。尽管在爱尔兰和英国，在定义可能构成“仪式”的内容时，仍然存在困难，但梅拉尔斯预示的“愚蠢的季节”（上古时代83：502-517，2009）尚未实现。来自发展主导和学术领域的新发现使中石器时代的考古学家能够更好地确定哪些考古记录要素可以解释为仪式。本文力图找出更多的仪式行为，并结合来自无有机遗迹的证据。我们在场所和特征尺度上以及在对对象的特殊处理中考虑仪式的证据，这是在理解仪式时经常被忽视的数据主体。