Statements in Stone - Monuments and Society in Neolithic Brittany

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.

List of contents

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

About the author

Mark Patton

Summary

Based 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.

Product details

• Authors: Mark Patton, Patton Mark
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 09.02.2015
• EAN: 9781138862074
• ISBN: 978-1-138-86207-4
• No. of pages: 224
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; Social sciences, law, business > Social sciences (general); European History, HISTORY / Ancient / General, HISTORY / Europe / General, Ancient History, Ancient history: to c 500 CE