The Later Prehistory of North-West Europe: The Evidence of Development-led Fieldwork [Hardcover]

The Later Prehistory of North-West Europeprovides a unique, up-to-date, and easily accessible synthesis of the later prehistoric archaeology of north-west Europe, surveying changes in social forms, landscape organization, monument types, and ritual practices over six millennia.The Later Prehistory of North-West Europeprovides a unique, up-to-date, and easily accessible synthesis of the later prehistoric archaeology of north-west Europe, transcending political and language barriers that can hinder understanding. By surveying changes in social forms, landscape organization, monument types, and ritual practices over six millennia, the volume reassesses the prehistory of north-west Europe from the late Mesolithic to the end of the pre-Roman Iron Age. It explores how far common patterns of social development are apparent across north-west Europe, and whether there were periods when local differences were emphasized instead. In relation to this, it also examines changes through time in the main axes of contact between the various regions of continental Europe, Britain, and Ireland.Key to the volume's broad scope is its focus on the vast mass of new evidence provided by recent development-led excavations. The authors collate data that has been gathered on thousands of sites across Britain, Ireland, northern France, the Low Countries, western Germany, and Denmark, using sources including unpublished 'grey literature' reports. The results challenge many aspects of previous narratives of later prehistory, allowing the volume to present a distinctively fresh perspective.PrefaceAcknowledgementsList of FiguresList of Tables1. Setting the Scene2. Late Foragers and First Farmers (8000-3700 BC)3. Regional Monumental Landscapes (3700-2500 BC)4. Barrow Landscapes Across the Channel (2500-1600 BC)5. Changes in the Pattern of Settlement (1600-1100 BC)6. The Expansion of Settlement (1100-250 BC)7. Total Landscapes (250 BC to the Early Roman Period)8. The Research in Rel£H