An Ethnography of the Neolithic

A reconstruction of society in prehistoric Scandinavia, which integrates archaeology and anthropology.

Christopher Tilley integrates a wide range of evidence to recreate accessibly the lives of hunter-gatherers and farmers in Sweden and Denmark. His skilful fusion of archaeology and new anthropological approaches makes this book an original contribution to a widely debated topic.Archaeological research in Sweden and Denmark has uncovered a startling array of evidence over the last 150 years, but until now there has been no comprehensive synthesis and interpretation of the material. An Ethnography of the Neolithic bridges this gap, giving an accessible and up-to-date analysis of a wide range of evidence, from landscapes to monumental tombs to portable artifacts. Christopher Tilley also uses this material as a basis for a provocative and novel reconstruction of late Mesolithic and earlier Neolithic societies in southern Scandinavia, over a period of 3,000 years. His skilful integration of archaeological evidence with new anthropological approaches makes this book an original contribution to an important topic, whose significance stretches outside Scandinavia, and beyond the Neolithic.