The Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in the East Midlands

The Archaeology Of The East Midlands. An Archaeological Resource Assessment And Research Agenda is an English Heritage sponsored document, written by a number of local experts, which summarises the archaeological evidence for our region on a period by period basis.  It is an invaluable resource for studying the archaeology of the Midlands and we will dip into it from time to time.

Chapter Four, by Dr Patrick Clay of the University of Leicester, covers the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, a period of great and transformational change in technology, society and the way in which people thought about and used the land.  

This week's assignment, for discussion during our second class on 8th October, is to read the chapter, with particular attention to the three sections on Ceremonial and Burial Monuments.  In class we will discuss the nature of the evidence for this aspect of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age society in the Midlands and what changes can be seen over the period, so come prepared!

You can download the chapter in Adobe PDF format from here:

Chapter 4. The Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. By Patrick Clay