Is There a British Chalcolithic?: People, Place and Polity in the later Third Millennium [Hardback]

The Chalcolithic, the phase in prehistory when the important technical development of adding tin to copper to produce bronze had not yet taken place, is not a term generally used by British prehistorians and whether there is even a definable phase is debated. Is there a British Chalcolithic? brings together many leading authorities in 20 papers that address this question. Papers are grouped under several headings. Definitions, Issues and Debate considers whether appropriate criteria apply that define a distinctive period (c. 2450 - 2150 cal BC) in cultural, social, and temporal terms with particular emphasis on the role and status of metal artefacts and Beaker pottery. Continental Perspectives addresses various aspects of comparative regions of Europe where a Chalcolithic has been defined. Around Britain and Ireland presents a series of large-scale regional case studies where authors argue for and against the adoption of the term. The final section Economy, Landscapes and Monuments , looks at aspects of economy, land-use and burial tradition and provides a detailed consideration of the Stonehenge and Avebury landscapes during the period in question. The volume contains much detailed information on sites and artefacts, and comprehensive radiocarbon datasets that will be invaluable to scholars and students studying this enigmatic but pivotal episode of British Prehistory.

DEFINITIONS, ISSUES and DEBATE

1. Case and Place for the British Chalcolithic (STUART NEEDHAM)
2. Drawing Boundaries and Building Models: investigating the concept of the ‘Chalcolithic frontier’ in northwest Europe (BENJAMIN W. ROBERTS and CATHERINE FRIEMAN)
3. A Rumsfeld Reality Check: what we know, what we don’t know and what we don’t know we don’t know about the Chalcolithic in Britain and Ireland (ALISON SHERIDAN)
4. Before 29Cu became copper: tracing the recognition and invention of metalleity in Britain and Ireland during the third millennium BC (PETER BRAY)

CONTINENTAL PERSPECTIVES

5. The importance of being insular: Britain and Ireland in their North-West European context during the 3rd millennium BC (MARC VANDER LINDEN)
6. Sense and non-sense of the term ‘Chalcolithic’ (MARTIN BARTELHEIM and RAIKO KRAUSS)
7. Growth and expansion; social, economic and ideological structures in the European Chalcolithic (VOLKER HEYD)
8. Dutchmen on the Move? A discussion of the adoption of the Beaker package (HARRY FOKKENS)
9. Working copper in the Chalcolithic; a long term perspective on the development of metallurgical knowledge in Central Europe and the Carpathian Basin (TOBIAS KIENLIN)

AROUND BRITAIN & IRELAND

10. Chronology, corpses, copper and lithics (FRANCES HEALY)
11. Is there a Scottish Chalcolithic? (IAN SHEPHERD† (completed by Alison Sheridan and Lekky) )
12. A date with the Chalcolithic in Wales; a review of radiocarbon determinations for the period 2450- 2100 BC (STEVE BURROW)
13. Searching for the Chalcolithic: continuity and change in the Irish Final Neolithic/Early Bronze Age (NEIL CARLIN and JOANNA BRÜCK)
14. The Chalcolithic in Ireland; a chronological and cultural framework (WILLIAM O’BRIEN)

PEOPLE

15. The Beaker People Project: an interim report on the progress of the isotopic analysis of the organic skeletal material (MANDY JAY, MIKE PARKER PEARSON, MIKE RICHARDS, OLAF NEHLICH, JANET MONTGOMERY, ANDREW CHAMBERLAIN, and ALISON SHERIDAN)
16. The Regionality of Beakers and Bodies in the Chalcolithic of North-East Scotland (NEIL CURTIS and NEIL WILKIN)
17. Stepping out together: men, women and their Beakers in time and space (ALEXANDRA SHEPHERD)

ECONOMY, LANDSCAPES and MONUMENTS

18. Beaker land-use, animals and economy – a chronological changing point? (MICHAEL J. ALLEN and MARK MALTBY)
19. The present dead: the making of past and future landscapes in the British ‘Chalcolithic’ (PAUL GARWOOD)
20. The Revenge of the Native: monuments, material culture and burial and other practices in the third quarter of the 3rd millennium BC in Wessex (ROSAMUND CLEAL and JOSHUA POLLARD)

Index

CD

1. Case and Place for the British Chalcolithic (STUART NEEDHAM)
Appendix 1.1: Key Chalcolithic grave groups
Appendix 1.2: Selected radiocarbon dated ceremonial sites mentioned in the text
Bibliography

10. Chronology, corpses, copper and lithics (FRANCES HEALY)
Table 10.4 Radiocarbon measurements used in models and/or cited in the text, in laboratory number order
Figures 10.3a, 10.3b. 10.3c, 10.3d, 10.3e, 10.5b, 10.5c, 10.5d, 10.5e, 10.5f, 10.5g, and 10.5i
Bibliography

15. The Beaker People Project: an interim report on the progress of the isotopic analysis of the organic skeletal material. (MANDY JAY, MIKE PARKER PEARSON, MIKE RICHARDS, OLAF NEHLICH, JANET MONTGOMERY, ANDREW CHAMBERLAIN, and ALISON SHERIDAN)
Table 15.1: List of individuals included in the Beaker People Project for isotope analysis

16. The Regionality of Beakers and Bodies in the Chalcolithic of North-East Scotland (NEIL CURTIS and NEIL WILKIN)
Appendix 2: Figures 16.9, 16.10, 16.11 and 16.12

17. Stepping out together: men, women and their Beakers in time and space. (ALEXANDRA SHEPHERD)
Case studies
Borrowstone Cists 1 & 2
Fig 17.11
Borrowstone Cists 4, 5 & 6
Broomhend of Crichie cist 2
Broomhend of Crichie cist 1
Garton Slack 163
Painsthorpe Wold 4
Huggate and Warter Wold 254

"...this is one of the most stimulating volumes on British prehistory to have been published for a considerable time. The arguments presented are constructive and substantial, and whilst in many cases the conclusions drawn within individual chapters conflict with one another, this ensures an engaging and thought-provoking read."
Gary Robinson
The Archaeological Journal

"...it is among the most stimulating of volumes on British prehistory to hit the shelves for a considerable time."
The Prehistoric Society
The Prehistoric Society