Grave Goods

Grave Goods
Author: Anwen Cooper
Publisher:
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2022
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1789257506

A large-scale investigation into grave goods (c. 4000 BC-AD 43), enabling a new level of understanding of mortuary practice, material culture, technological innovation and social transformation.

The Oxford Handbook of the European Bronze Age

The Oxford Handbook of the European Bronze Age
Author: Harry Fokkens
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 1012
Release: 2013-06-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 0199572860

The Oxford Handbook of the European Bronze Age is a wide-ranging survey of a crucial period in prehistory during which many social, economic, and technological changes took place. Written by expert specialists in the field, the book provides coverage both of the themes that characterize the period, and of the specific developments that took place in the various countries of Europe. After an introduction and a discussion of chronology, successive chapters deal with settlement studies, burial analysis, hoards and hoarding, monumentality, rock art, cosmology, gender, and trade, as well as a series of articles on specific technologies and crafts (such as transport, metals, glass, salt, textiles, and weighing). The second half of the book covers each country in turn. From Ireland to Russia, Scandinavia to Sicily, every area is considered, and up to date information on important recent finds is discussed in detail. The book is the first to consider the whole of the European Bronze Age in both geographical and thematic terms, and will be the standard book on the subject for the foreseeable future.

Ritual in Early Bronze Age Grave Goods

Ritual in Early Bronze Age Grave Goods
Author: John Hunter
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Total Pages: 593
Release: 2014-10-31
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1782976973

The exotic and impressive grave goods from burials of the ‘Wessex Culture’ in Early Bronze Age Britain are well known and have inspired influential social and economic hypotheses, invoking the former existence of chiefs, warriors and merchants and high-ranking pastoralists. Alternative theories have sought to explain the how display of such objects was related to religious and ritual activity rather than to economic status, and that groups of artefacts found in certain graves may have belonged to religious specialists. This volume is the result of a major research that aimed to investigate Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age grave goods in relation to their possible use as special dress accessories or as equipment employed within ritual activities and ceremonies. Many items of adornment can be shown to have formed elements of elaborate costumes, probably worn by individuals, both male and female, who held important ritual roles within society. Furthermore, the analysis has shown that various categories of object long interpreted as mundane types of tool were in fact items of bodily adornment or implements used in ritual contexts, or in the special embellishment of the human body. Although never intended to form a complete catalogue of all the relevant artefacts from England the volume provides an extensive, and intensively illustrated, overview of a large proportion of the grave goods from English burial sites.

Is There a British Chalcolithic?

Is There a British Chalcolithic?
Author: Michael J. Allen
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Total Pages: 546
Release: 2012-06-09
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1842178970

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 artifacts 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 artifacts, and comprehensive radiocarbon datasets that will be invaluable to scholars and students studying this enigmatic but pivotal episode of British Prehistory. Additional information originally found on included CD ROM can be downloaded here: https://books.casematepublishers.com/Is_There_a_British_Chalcolithic.pdf

Middle Bronze Age and Roman Settlement at Manor Pit, Baston, Lincolnshire: Excavations 2002-2014

Middle Bronze Age and Roman Settlement at Manor Pit, Baston, Lincolnshire: Excavations 2002-2014
Author: Rob Atkins
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2020-04-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1789695848

Between 2002 and 2014 MOLA Northampton carried out evaluation and excavation work at the Manor Pit, Baston, Lincolnshire. The site saw significant occupation in the late Bronze Age and Roman periods, with evidence of enclosures in Medieval and Post-Medieval times.

Warfare in Bronze Age Society

Warfare in Bronze Age Society
Author: Christian Horn
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2018-04-26
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1316949222

Warfare in Bronze Age Society takes a fresh look at warfare and its role in reshaping Bronze Age society. The Bronze Age represents the global emergence of a militarized society with a martial culture, materialized in a package of new efficient weapons that remained in use for millennia to come. Warfare became institutionalized and professionalized during the Bronze Age, and a new class of warriors made their appearance. Evidence for this development is reflected in the ostentatious display of weapons in burials and hoards, and in iconography, from rock art to palace frescoes. These new manifestations of martial culture constructed the warrior as a 'Hero' and warfare as 'Heroic'. The case studies, written by an international team of scholars, discuss these and other new aspects of Bronze Age warfare. Moreover, the essays show that warriors also facilitated mobility and innovation as new weapons would have quickly spread from the Mediterranean to northern Europe.