PREHISTORIC BRITAIN

by T.C.Darvill (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1987

  $4.78

• Used

  Paperback
  1987

  $3.47

  Britain has been inhabited by man for nearly 500,000 years, during which time there have been a great many changes in lifestyles and the surrounding landscapes. Darvill examines the development of human societies in Britain from earliest times to the Roman Conquest, as revealed by archaeological evidence. Special emphasis is placed upon six themes which are traced through all phases of prehistory: subsistence, technology, ritual, trade, society and population. The background to prehistoric Britain is first presented in terms of the development of interest in the subject and the changes wrought by new techniques such as radiocarbon dating, and new theories such as the emphasis on social archaeology. The central chapters then trace the development of society from the hunter-gatherer groups of the last Ice Age, through the adoption of farming, the introduction of metalworking, on to the rise of highly organized societies living on the fringes of the mighty Roman Empire in the first century AD. Throughout, prominence is given to documenting and explaining changes within these prehistoric communities, and to exploring the regional variations found around Britain. In this way the wealth of evidence to be found in our museums is placed in its proper context. The author ends with a review of the effects of prehistoric communities on life today.