Social Histories and Regional Perspectives in the Neolithic of Lowland England

Abstract

Recent studies have illustrated a series of marked regional differences in the distribution and design of Neolithic monuments throughout lowland England. They fail, however, to provide an interpretative framework for the discussion of these contrasts. This paper proposes that such regional variability can only be understood with a scale of analysis which outlines the fundamental distinctions between political communities in different parts of lowland England. It is argued that factors such as population size and density can be clearly related to the variability from area to area in the number and structural complexity of causewayed enclosures. It is also possible to link these demographic factors to a long-term process of social change whereby the small autonomous groups of the earlier Neolithic were transformed into larger political units. The cursus and henge monuments were an important component of this process, and regional variability in the distribution and design of these sites can be taken to demonstrate that the extent of this transformation differed throughout lowland England. It is evident that there were important contrasts between those regions which had previously been distinguished by the variability in the layout of causewayed enclosures. The stylised morphology of the cursus and henge monuments appears to have deliberately accentuated such contrasts. These sites therefore provide clear evidence for the existence of long-term regional traditions across lowland England.