Peter Groom is an Environmentalist (MSc) and Experimental Archaeologist (MA), he has a PhD in Mesolithic archaeology, is a freelance experimental archaeologist and primitive skills / bushcraft practitioner, and is a director of the Mesolithic Resource Group (www.mesolithic.org.uk).
His PhD from the University of Edinburgh used experimental archaeology to research Mesolithic fishing and foraging strategies on the west coast of Scotland. This involved the use of Mesolithic hunter-gatherer technologies to make fishing lines and portable traps.
Some of his other projects have included: Prehistoric stone and bone bead-making in Romania, tree bast fibre comparisons in Denmark, experiments in Neanderthal birch bark tar production, pit fired pottery, and skin-on-frame canoe and coracle making at Kierikki Stone Age Centre in Finland.
As an ex ranger, Peter draws on his extensive experience and knowledge of natural history, nature conservation and wilderness activities, and has worked for many years as a lecturer on these subjects. He has an array of primitive and traditional craft skills and has worked extensively with the production and use of natural, plant-based fibres.
With a view to further communicating our understanding of the Mesolithic he has also written two novels: The Hunter, The Dog Men, and the House by the Shore and The Hunter, the Anger and the Green Man. He lives in Staffordshire, England.
