Ancestral Geographies of the Neolithic: Landscapes, Monuments and Memory

The causewayed enclosures of the Neolithic are the first monumental structures in the British Isles. But the uses to which these vast concentric rings of raised walkways were put remains confused. Archaeological evidence suggests that these sites had many different, and often contradictory functions, and there may have been other uses for which no evidence survives. How can archaeologists present an effective interpretation, with the consciousness that both their own subjectivitiy, and the variety of conflicing views will determine their approach. Because these sites have become a focus for so much controversy, the problem of presenting them to the public assumes a critical importance. The authors raise central issues which occur in all archaeological interpretation, especially in sites that have been put to a variety of uses over time. The authors have not tried to provide a comprehensive review of the archaeology of all these causewayed sites in Britain, but rather to use them as case studies in the development of an archaeological interpretaion. These techniques and approaches can be applied to sites of many periods. Mark Edmonds surveys the varied approaches which have been made to the sites, and show the "communities of interpretation" which emerged. In many cases, these have used the enclosures to support models derived from other sources. They suggest that this approach has skewed the evidence to be derived from the sites themselves.

Table of Contents:
Setting and Scenes, Origins, Ancestral Geographies, Keeping to the Path, Working Stone, A Gift from the Ancestors, The Living and the Dead, Attending to the Dead, A Time and a Place for Enclosure, Drawing the Line, Arenas of Value, The Pattern of Things, Changes in the Land, Post Excavation, Bibliography.

About the Author :

Mark Edmonds is Senior Lecturer in landscape archaeology at the University of Sheffield. He is the author of Stone Tools and Society.

'The text speaks for itself. It is a vivid, scholarly and sensitive view.' - The Archaeologist

'As a specialist, I found Ancestral Geographies unusually enjoyable as well as stimulating, and I think it will work well for other kinds of readers at different stages and with different interests. For a sense of how life might have been both in daily spheres and at unusual monuments in the Early Neolithic, this is a brilliant introduction.' - Landscape History

'This is a wonderful book, beautifully written, and elegant summary of Edmonds' own views and of the conclusions of an exciting new generation of British prehistorians.' - Ian Hodder, Cambridge Archaeological Journal