Neolithic of Europe

The Neolithic of Europe comprises eighteen specially commissioned papers on prehistoric archaeology, written by leading international scholars. The coverage is broad, ranging geographically from south-east Europe to Britain and Ireland and chronologically from the Neolithic to the Iron Age, but with a decided focus on the former. Several papers discuss new scientific approaches to key questions in Neolithic research, while others offer interpretive accounts of aspects of the archaeological record. Thematically, the main foci are on Neolithisation; the archaeology of Neolithic daily life, settlements and subsistence; as well as monuments and aspects of worldview. A number of contributions highlight the recent impact of techniques such as isotopic analysis and statistically modelled radiocarbon dates on our understanding of mobility, diet, lifestyles, events and historical processes. The volume is presented to celebrate the enormous impact that Alasdair Whittle has had on the study of prehistory, especially the European and British Neolithic, and his rich career in archaeology.

Penny Bickle is a lecturer in the Department of Archaeology, University of York. The main focus of her research is Neolithic Europe, especially in the application of bioarchaeological methods to various sites and time periods to inform on issues of identity and social diversity. She has a particular interest in the examination of burial practices to uncover the social lives and lifeways of the earliest farmers in Europe. Vicki Cummings is Reader in Archaeology in the School of Forensic and Applied Sciences, University of Central Lancashire where she specialises in the Mesolithic and Neolithic of Britain and Ireland, with a particular focus on monuments and landscape. She has a broader interest in hunting and gathering populations, interpretive archaeology and stone tools. Daniela Hofmann is a lecturer in the institute of archaeology of the University of Hamburg. Her research focuses on the Neolithic of Europe with particular emphasis on changes in burial practices, routines and architecture and the construction of identity. Joshua Pollard is a Professor of Archaeology at the University of Southampton. He has wide-ranging research interests in the Neolithic period and has directed and co-directed major fieldwork projects in the Avebury and Stonehenge landscapes.