Table Of ContentNote on the use of radiocarbon dates Acknowledgements 1. Megaliths and Society, an Introduction 2. Centres of Production and Spheres of Interaction: Stone Axe Exchange in the Armorican Neolithic 3. Long Mounds and Giant Menhirs: Ritual Landscapes of the First Farmers. 4. Monuments in a Coastal Landscape: Passage Graves of the Armorican Littoral. 5. Statements of Power and Symbols of Wealth: the Great Mounds and Alignments of the Carnac Region 6. Land for the Living, Tombs for the Dead: Burial Monuments of the Late Neolithic. 7. Sealing the Tombs: the abandonment of Megaliths. 8. Conclusion: Ritual Landscapes and Social Structure in the Armorican Neolithic
SynopsisBased on the evidence of recent excavations, and the most up-to-date theoretical perspectives, Statements in Stone is the first account to put the megalithic traditions of Brittany in a social context.The megalithic monuments of Western Europe cover a period of over 2,000 years, from the earliest neolithic to the beginning of the Bronze Age, and have excited the popular imagination for centuries. Based on the evidence of recent excavations, and the most up-to-date and controversial theoretical perspectives of archaeology, Statements in Stone is the first account to put the megalithic traditions of Brittany in a social context and to develop a social model to account for their emergence and development., "Statements in Stone" is the first detailed account of the megaliths, the great stone monuments of Western Europe. For centuries, the megaliths have excited the popular imagination and recent years have witnessed a surge of interest in megalithic studies, involving a shift away from traditional concerns with typology, chronology and "origins," towards an attempt to understand the social significance of megalithic monuments, as well as the cultural dimensions of monument construction and ritual. In any consideration of European megaliths, Britanny must be seen as a core area of study, distinguished by its density and diversity of monuments. This book places various megalithic traditions into a social context, relating them to changing structures in social organization. These megaliths cover a period of over 2000 years, from the Neolithic period to the beginning of the Bronze Age. Mark Patton shows how recent excavations have further contributed to our understanding of megaliths: thediscovery of early complexes beneath passage graves for instance, have provided evidence for the multiphase construction of megalithic cairns and tombs. "Statements in Stone" is based on the most recent and controversial theoretical perspectives in archaeology and will be of great interest to students of this discipline, as well as those in the field of anthropology., The megalithic monuments of Western Europe cover a period of over 2,000 years, from the earliest neolithic to the beginning of the Bronze Age, and have excited the popular imagination for centuries. Based on the evidence of recent excavations, and the most up-to-date and controversial theoretical perspectives of archaeology, Statements in Stone is the first account to put the megalithic traditions of Brittany in a social context and to develop a social model to account for their emergence and development.