Books in the Neolithic Studies Group Seminar Papers series

The rise to prominence of pits within narratives of the British and Irish Neolithic is well-documented in recent literature.

Reprint of another classic Neolithic Studies Group volume. 'It is a sign of the intellectual health of a specialist study group that its deliberations can generate collections of papers of general interest.

A digital reprint which makes available again the first publication of the Neolithic Studies Group, containing papers given to a special colloquium on the `structures' of Neolithic Europe. Contributions include: Neolithic houses in mainland Britain and Ireland - a skeptical view (Julian Thomas); Houses in context: Building as process (Alasdair Whitlle); A Central European Perspective (Jonathon Last); Neolithic houses in Ireland (Eoin Grogan); Neolithic buildings in Scotland (Gordon Barclay); Neolithic buildings in England, Wales and the Isle of Man (Tim Darvill); Mesolithic or later houses at Bowmans Farm, Romsey Extra, Hampshire (Francis Green); Ballygalley houses, co.Antrim (Derek Simpson); Later Neolthic Structires at Trelystan, Powys (Alex Gibson); Life, times and works of House 59, Tell Ovcharovo, Bulgaria (Douglass Bailey); Structure ans ritual in Neolithic houses (Peter Topping); Architecture and Cosmology in the Balinese house: life is not that simple (Colin Richards); Houses in the Neolithic imagination: an Amazonian Example (Christine Hugh-Jones).

This volume focuses on new approaches to the human body in Neolithic Europe and the near East. Papers examine latest work on analysing and interpreting the funerary record, how the body is represented Neolithic art and objects and how we might approach aspects of the body as a lived exeprience in the Neolithic.

Lithic artefacts were an intrinsic part of Neolithic life both in terms of everyday practical use and in ritual/symbolic mode. Archaeologists and prehistorians studying the Neolithic period recognise this, and accordingly, strive to maximise relevant data recovery and subsequently exploit the available data to the full.

This volume is based upon a conference which took place in 1999, reflecting the developing interest in intertidal archaeology and concentrating on the Neolithic period, as well as elements of associated Mesolithic and Bronze Age archaeology.

Prehistoric imagery is enigmatic and has been largely overlooked by archaeologists; it is only in the last two decades that it has garnered serious academic attention. This volume addresses this lacuna and discusses visual expression across Neolithic Europe.

A review of the most recent evidence from cursuses, and ideas on their interpretation, with contributions as follows: Introduction (J Harding and A Barclay) , the radiocarbon problem (A Barclay and A Bayliss) , symbolic territories (J Harding) , processions, memories and the Dorset cursus (R Johnston) , Dorchester on Thames - ritual complex or ritual landscape (R Loveday) , cattle, cursus monuments and the river ... the Upper Thames (A Barclay and G Hey) , the Cambridgeshire Ouse (T Malim) , Eastern England (J Last) , the Cleaven Dyke (A Barclay and G Maxwell) , the Holywood cursus, Dumfries (J Thomas et al) , cursus monuments in Scotland (K Brophy) , cursus monuments in Wales (A Gibson) , cursus-like monuments in Ireland (C Newman) , Passy-Rots and linear monuments in northern France (I Kinnes) .

Explores new techniques for investigating prehistoric extraction sites and examines the processes of and beliefs behind the acquisition and use of stone in the Neolithic.

Neolithic Studies Group volume discussing the range of current work on causewayed enclosures and exploring the recent fieldwork, academic research and community projects.