This chapter highlights the considerable and growing body of evidence for Neolithic activity, reliably dated to between c. 3950/3900 and 3700 cal bc in northern Britain (especially Scotland), which is associated with the use of pottery in the ‘Carinated Bowl’ ceramic tradition. The distribution of this type of pottery extends far beyond the area under review, to encompass much of Britain and much of Ireland. It is argued that the appearance of the Carinated Bowl-associated Neolithic package (and indeed that of other strands of Neolithization) is best explained in terms of the arrival of small farming groups from the Continent. An acculturationist, gradualist position on the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition simply fails to account for the evidence to hand. And even though many writers have highlighted the difficulties of pinpointing an area of origin for our hypothetical Continental ‘Carinated Bowl settlers’, it is argued that the search is neither fruitless nor hopeless.