Gesellschaft und Monumentalität

zwischen Nordatlantik und Ostsee 4500-1800 v. Chr.

Brinkmann, Johanna

The process of Neolithization reached northern Europe shortly before 4000 BCE spreading to the British Isles and the western Baltic region. The introduction of the new subsistence economy brings with it profound changes, of which the megalithic tombs that appear soon afterwards are probably among the most striking features. Due to their presence in the landscape, these iconic testimonies of the Neolithic between the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea were a source of fascination even before the professionalization of prehistoric archaeology and continue so today beyond the academic discourse.
This work is the first to offer a summarizing, systematic study of the megalithic sites and the entire material culture of the Neolithic on the British Isles and in the western Baltic between 4500 and 1800 BCE. Embedded in a comprehensive comparative analysis of the movable material culture (pottery, stone and metal artifacts), the settlement structures as well as the graves and monuments, the occurrence of Neolithic monumentality in this area is traced across the entire Neolithic period. On a large-scale level, parallel developments between the British Isles and the western Baltic region are evident in many aspects.
The systematic presentation of the archaeological material is based on the here introduced principle of integrative archaeology. The archaeological case studies are preceded by a critical examination of the concept of archaeological cultures and theory formation in archaeology on the one hand, and a summary of megalithism in the European research history as well as an analysis of the prevailing theories on Neolithic monumentality on the other.