Cosmology, calendars and society in Neolithic Orkney: a rejoinder to Euan MacKie

Ruggles, Clive; Barclay, Gordon

doi:10.1017/s0003598x00066151

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Therefore, the movement up into the alpine zone is a process that took place at a certain time of year, perhaps associated with astronomic events. Although such movements may not have been on the same day each year, Bronze Age astrologic measurement was of a nature that temporal structures were undoubtedly patterned and consistent (Ruggles and Barclay 2000). Perhaps Halbwachs's (1992) notion of social memory can inform assessments of Bronze Age cosmologies; in particular, notions relating to the ways in which people developed memories in the mountainous zones.…”

Section: Social Memory and The Control Of Mobilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobility in the Mountains: Late Third and Second Millennia Alpine Societies' Engagements with the High-Altitude Zones in the Southern French Alps

Walsh¹,

Mocci²

2011

Eur. j. archaeol.

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The assessment of the important changes that occurred in late third and second millennia societies across Europe often emphasizes changes in technology and the emergence of associated objects and art forms, changes in burial rites, and developments in economic practices. Notions relating to the evolution of homo economicus dominate many of the discourses, and the evidence for increased long-distance trade / contact across Europe is used to bolster this assessment. These themes are underpinned by an obsession with ever-refined chrono-typological phases. In an attempt to present a more socially embedded perspective, this paper considers the changes that occurred in the uses of the high-altitude, sub-alpine, and alpine zones in the southern French Alps during the third and second millennia BC. From c. 2500 BC onwards, there was a fundamental change in the use of and engagement with this landscape. The first substantial stone-built pastoral structures at high altitude (2000 m and above), appear at this time. This departure in the use and structuring of the alpine space would have included concomitant changes in the nature of mobility, notions of territory, and memories associated with this area.

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Section: Social Memory and The Control Of Mobilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobility in the Mountains: Late Third and Second Millennia Alpine Societies' Engagements with the High-Altitude Zones in the Southern French Alps

Walsh¹,

Mocci²

2011

Eur. j. archaeol.

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“…The Neolithic of Britain has generally been written about from the basis of one or other of these 'core areas' (Barclay 2001). While many prehistorians still argue that these 'luminous centres' were substantially more important than other areas in prehistory, many writers in northern English, Scottish and lrish prehistory reject this (Barclay 2000;2001: Cooney 19972001;Harding 2000; Harding et al . 1996).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…10 The data relating to the layout of stone circles can be explained more simply than by complex geometrical layout and the use of a standard measurement (see references in Ruggles & Barclay 2000) and, using Occam's razor. we prefer the simple hypothesis to the unnecessarily complicated one.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Will the data drive the model? A further response to Euan MacKie

Barclay¹,

Ruggles²

2002

Antiquity

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“…The aerial photography record has also revealed the probable former existence of a number of henges in Tayside and Fife, in addition to the examples mentioned above (Dunwell & Ralston 2008, fig 9). These include a particularly large candidate at Westfield, Angus (Barclay 1999). Again, excavation is required to ground-test the evidence.…”

Section: Late Neolithic C 3000-2500 Bcmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neolithic Scotland: ScARF Panel Report

2012

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The main recommendations of the Panel report can be summarised as follows: The Overall Picture: more needs to be understood about the process of acculturation of indigenous communities; about the Atlantic, Breton strand of Neolithisation; about the ‘how and why’ of the spread of Grooved Ware use and its associated practices and traditions; and about reactions to Continental Beaker novelties which appeared from the 25th century. The Detailed Picture: Our understanding of developments in different parts of Scotland is very uneven, with Shetland and the north-west mainland being in particular need of targeted research. Also, here and elsewhere in Scotland, the chronology of developments needs to be clarified, especially as regards developments in the Hebrides. Lifeways and Lifestyles: Research needs to be directed towards filling the substantial gaps in our understanding of: i) subsistence strategies; ii) landscape use (including issues of population size and distribution); iii) environmental change and its consequences – and in particular issues of sea level rise, peat formation and woodland regeneration; and iv) the nature and organisation of the places where people lived; and to track changes over time in all of these. Material Culture and Use of Resources: In addition to fine-tuning our characterisation of material culture and resource use (and its changes over the course of the Neolithic), we need to apply a wider range of analytical approaches in order to discover more about manufacture and use.Some basic questions still need to be addressed (e.g. the chronology of felsite use in Shetland; what kind of pottery was in use, c 3000–2500, in areas where Grooved Ware was not used, etc.) and are outlined in the relevant section of the document. Our knowledge of organic artefacts is very limited, so research in waterlogged contexts is desirable. Identity, Society, Belief Systems: Basic questions about the organisation of society need to be addressed: are we dealing with communities that started out as egalitarian, but (in some regions) became socially differentiated? Can we identify acculturated indigenous people? How much mobility, and what kind of mobility, was there at different times during the Neolithic? And our chronology of certain monument types and key sites (including the Ring of Brodgar, despite its recent excavation) requires to be clarified, especially since we now know that certain types of monument (including Clava cairns) were not built during the Neolithic. The way in which certain types of site (e.g. large palisaded enclosures) were used remains to be clarified. Research and methodological issues: There is still much ignorance of the results of past and current research, so more effective means of dissemination are required. Basic inventory information (e.g. the Scottish Human Remains Database) needs to be compiled, and Canmore and museum database information needs to be updated and expanded – and, where not already available online, placed online, preferably with a Scottish Neolithic e-hub that directs the enquirer to all the available sources of information. The Historic Scotland on-line radiocarbon date inventory needs to be resurrected and kept up to date. Under-used resources, including the rich aerial photography archive in the NMRS, need to have their potential fully exploited. Multi-disciplinary, collaborative research (and the application of GIS modelling to spatial data in order to process the results) is vital if we are to escape from the current ‘silo’ approach and address key research questions from a range of perspectives; and awareness of relevant research outside Scotland is essential if we are to avoid reinventing the wheel. Our perspective needs to encompass multi-scale approaches, so that ScARF Neolithic Panel Report iv developments within Scotland can be understood at a local, regional and wider level. Most importantly, the right questions need to be framed, and the right research strategies need to be developed, in order to extract the maximum amount of information about the Scottish Neolithic.

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Cosmology, calendars and society in Neolithic Orkney: a rejoinder to Euan MacKie

Cited by 15 publications

References 20 publications

Mobility in the Mountains: Late Third and Second Millennia Alpine Societies' Engagements with the High-Altitude Zones in the Southern French Alps

Mobility in the Mountains: Late Third and Second Millennia Alpine Societies' Engagements with the High-Altitude Zones in the Southern French Alps

Will the data drive the model? A further response to Euan MacKie

Neolithic Scotland: ScARF Panel Report

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