Description
Oxford Neolithic Britain The Transformation of Social Worlds 2018 Edition by Keith Ray, Julian Thomas
The Neolithic in Britain was a period of fundamental change:
human communities were transformed, collectively owning domesticated plants and
animals, and inhabiting a richer world of material things: timber houses and
halls, pottery vessels, polished flint and stone axes, and massive monuments of
earth and stone. Equally important was the development of a suite of new social
practices, and an emphasis on descent, continuity and inheritance. These
innovations set intrain social processes that culminated with the construction
of Stonehenge, the most remarkable surviving structure from prehistoric
Europe.Neolithic Britain provides an up to date, concise introduction to the
period of British prehistory from c. 4000-2200 BCE. Written on the basis of a
new appreciation of the chronology of the period, the result reflects both on
the way that archaeologists write narratives of the Neolithic, and how
Neolithic people constructed histories of their own. Incorporating new insights
from the extraordinary pace of archaeological discoveries in recent years, a
world emerges which is unfamiliar,complex and challenging, and yet played a
decisive role in forging the landscape of contemporary Britain.Important recent
developments have resulted in a dual realisation: firstly, highly focused
research into individual site chronologies can indicate precise and particular
time narratives; and secondly, this new awareness of time implies original
insights about the fabric of Neolithic society, embracing matters of
inheritance, kinship and social ties, and the 'descent' of cultural
practices.Moreover, our understanding of Neolithic society has been radically
affected by individual discoveries and investigative projects, whether in the
Stonehenge area, on mainland Orkney, or in less well-known localities across
the British Isles. The new perspective provided in this volume stems from a
greater awareness of the ways in which unfolding events and transformations in
societies depend upon the changing relations between individuals and groups,
mediated by objects and architecture.This concise panorama into Neolithic
Britain offers new conclusions and an academically-stimulating but accessible
overview. It covers key material and social developments, and reflects on the
nature of cultural practices, tradition, genealogy, and society across nearly
two millennia.
Table of Contents: -
Introduction: Neolithic Encounters and Reflections
1: Writing Neolithic Britain: An Interpretive Journey
2: 4000 BCE: A Cultural Threshold
3: Narratives for the Fourth Millennium
4: Social Being and Cultural Practices
5: Narratives for the Third Millennium6: Kinship, History,
and Descent Conclusion: A Lived Neolithic.