Grave-goods, contexts and interpretation: towards regional narratives of Early Bronze Age Scotland

Wilkin, Neil

doi:10.3366/saj.2011.0022

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The analysis of the Middle Bronze Age cremation sites and burials demonstrates no bias towards particular sexes or age ranges. Neither is any social, ritual, nor political differentiation made explicit in the funerary remains – in stark contrast to monuments and grave goods which characterise the archaeologically visible Early Bronze Age ( c. 2200–1600 cal bc ) evidence (see Woodward 2000; Garwood 2007; Needham 2011; Wilkin 2011; Fowler 2013; Melton et al 2013; Hunter & Woodward 2015; Jones 2016; Nicolas 2017). Where it exists, the evidence for Middle Bronze Age barrow construction is far less substantial in scale, investment, and complexity (eg, Bradley & Fraser 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reassessing Community Cemeteries: Cremation Burials in Britain during the Middle Bronze Age (c.1600–1150 calbc)

Caswell

Roberts

2018

Proc. Prehist. Soc.

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The Middle Bronze Age (c. 1600–1150 cal bc) in Britain is traditionally understood to represent a major funerary transition. This is a transformation from a heterogeneous funerary rite, largely encompassing inhumations and cremations in burial mounds and often accompanied by grave goods, to a homogeneous and unadorned cremation-based practice. Despite a huge expansion in the number of well excavated, radiocarbon dated, and osteologically analysed sites in the last three decades, current interpretations of Middle Bronze Age cremation burials still rely upon a seminal paper by Ellison (1980), which proposed that they comprise and represent an entire community. This paper analyses 378 cremation sites containing at least 3133 burials which represent all those that can be confidently dated to the Middle Bronze Age in Britain. The new analysis demonstrates that relatively few sites can be characterised as community cemeteries and that there are substantially more contemporary settlement sites, though few contemporary settlements are in close proximity to the cemeteries. The identifiable characteristics of cremation-based funerary practices are consistent across Britain with little evidence for social differentiation at the point of burial. It is also evident that only a minority of the population received a cremation burial. There is a substantial decrease in archaeologically visible funerary activity from the preceding Early Bronze Age (c. 2200–1600 cal bc) and a further decrease in the proceeding Late Bronze Age (c. 1150–800 cal bc) in Britain. This is comparable in form, and partially in sequence, to Bronze Age funerary practices in Ireland and several regions in North-west Europe.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reassessing Community Cemeteries: Cremation Burials in Britain during the Middle Bronze Age (c.1600–1150 calbc)

Caswell

Roberts

2018

Proc. Prehist. Soc.

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“…Curtis and Wilkin (2012) incorporated changes in Beaker types within a rich multidimensional study of regional trends in burials, artefact types and monumental architecture in eastern Scotland c. 2500-2200 BC, explaining divergent as well as shared local traditions in terms of differing degrees, kinds and scales of interaction over time. Neil Wilkin also developed a 'contextual typology' in both his ground-breaking PhD thesis on Food Vessel pottery (2013,(27)(28)(29)(30)(31), and his research on Scottish Beaker burials (Wilkin 2011). He draws on the concept of habitus to underline the knowledgeable actions of those producing the pots.…”

Section: Typologies and Interpretations Of Early Bronze Age Pottery Amentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They discuss largescale trends (e.g. Needham 2005; Wilkin 2013; Wilkin & Vander Linden 2015) and local histories in relation to and as part of those trends (Curtis & Wilkin 2012;Fowler & Wilkin 2016;Millson 2016;Wilkin 2011;.…”

Section: Typologies and Interpretations Of Early Bronze Age Pottery Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Relational Typologies, Assemblage Theory and Early Bronze Age Burials

Fowler

2017

CAJ

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This article argues that artefact types and typologies are kinds of assemblages, presenting an explicitly relational interpretation of typology grounded in a more-than-representational assemblage theory. In the process it evaluates recent approaches to typology, and the interpretations these typologies have supported, and compares these with approaches which emphasize materiality and experience. It then illustrates the benefit of drawing these two angles of analysis closer together within an approach grounded in a more-than-representational assemblage theory. Throughout, the discussion revolves around British Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age burials and types of artefacts commonly found within them. The core argument is that, if used appropriately, typologies are not constraints to the appreciation of distinctiveness, difference and relationality in the past, but can rather form an important tool in detecting those relations and making sense of different past ways of becoming.

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“…Despite a huge interest in social lives in the Bronze Age of northwest Europe (e.g. Brück 2004; 2006; 2009; 2019; Crellin 2017; Fowler 2016; 2017; Wilkin 2011), there has been little attempt to differentiate children in this milieu (though see Gibson 2004; McLaren 2004; 2011). In an Irish context, little has been attempted since cursory explorations in the 1990s (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seeing Children in Prehistory: A View from Bronze Age Ireland

Haughton

2021

CAJ

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Despite growing strength in recent decades, an archaeology of childhood has often been overlooked by those studying prehistory. This is concerning because communities are enlivened by their children, and conversations with and about children often provide a critical arena for the discussion of aspects of societies which prehistorians are comfortable addressing, such as social structure, identity and personhood. Through an exploration of childhood as expressed in the Earlier Bronze Age burials from Ireland, this article demonstrates that neither written sources, artistic depictions nor toys are necessary to speak of children in the past. Indeed, an approach which tacks between scales reveals subtle trends in the treatment of children which speak to wider shared concerns and allows a reflection on the role of children in prehistory.

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Grave-goods, contexts and interpretation: towards regional narratives of Early Bronze Age Scotland

Cited by 6 publications

References 23 publications

Reassessing Community Cemeteries: Cremation Burials in Britain during the Middle Bronze Age (c.1600–1150 calbc)

Reassessing Community Cemeteries: Cremation Burials in Britain during the Middle Bronze Age (c.1600–1150 calbc)

Relational Typologies, Assemblage Theory and Early Bronze Age Burials

Seeing Children in Prehistory: A View from Bronze Age Ireland

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