The Age of Stonehenge [Paperback]

Colin Burgess (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2001

Departing form the traditional Stone, Bronze and Iron terminology, he provides a coherent slice of pre-history in a fresh and accessible way. We get to see and understand the physical characteristics and appearance of the people, their fashions in clothing, ornaments, equipment and weapons, in arts and crafts. He looks at population levels and social and political organization and reveals that these people of over 4000 years ago were much more numerous, organized and technologically skilled than we have been led to think. The range of topics covered is encyclopaedic from early farming techniques to the nature of the houses and struggles with the soil and climate to disease, surgery and boat construction. Illustrated with drawings, plans, maps and photographs, this is the first book to deal with all aspects of this crucial period of prehistory.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Colin Burgess is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, was formerly a member of the Council for of the Prehistoric Society, and founded the Bronze Age Studies Group. He has excavated widely in Britain, notably at the massive Meldon Bridge complex in Peebleshire, and has also dug in Turkey.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Phoenix Press (UK) (December 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1842124323
• ISBN-13: 978-1842124321
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,184,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Old, but still very worth while., May 19, 2005

By 

Atheen M. Wilson "Atheen" (Mpls, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Age of Stonehenge (Paperback)

The Age of Stonehenge was originally written in 1980. Colin Burgess subsequently left the field of the early prehistory of the British Isles for work in the Mediterranean on the Phoenicians and the Sea Peoples. The book has subsequently seen new editions in 2001 and 2003, which suggests that the material is both well presented and well researched. If it is any indication of his thoroughness one can only regret his early departure from English pre-history and his early retirement from the academic world in general.

While I found the first few chapters a little difficult to get through because they deal primarily with pottery styles, I enjoyed the book as a whole. It filled in a great deal of information with respect to the culture of the age of Stonehenge, and corrected several misapprehensions I had acquired from other reading. Most importantly, it presents a fine overview of modern archaeology as applied to a period that many people think they already know!

I was particularly impressed with the introduction of more recent information on the character of early settlement and subsequent culture change. Early books on the topic accredit population movements, invasions, and total replacement of one culture by another. Having taken some archaeology classes on European archaeology within the past 5 years, I had become aware of professional doubts on this topic. The tendency of past researchers to think in terms of nations, ethnic groups, etc., probably because we live with these social structures today, had produced a map covered with tribal names and arrows of migration that is now being discredited. As the author notes, it is more likely that culture and populations remained stable for centuries, in contact and exchanging cultural variables among them along shared borders. The archaeology of the British Isles bears little credence to anything like massive invasions. He does note the movements in the period of the Sea Peoples in the Mediterranean and suggests that during this time considerable movement of people may well have occurred in the British Isles as they did elsewhere.

What surprised me particularly was the degree of organization of property and control over land and people. One has the impression of á relatively open society with everyone living much the same as everyone else and of mass efforts to erect major monuments for which the group felt the need. It is abundantly apparent that the building of Stonehenge and other major works required a large labor force, but one does not necessarily carry that idea forward to the conclusions that naturally would arise from shear numbers. What kind of life did these people live? How were they organized on a day to day basis? Was there a cooperative effort across geo-political borders? Etc. The author answers many of these questions.

Among the specific data Burgess provides, I was most surprised by the apparent lack of artistic sense among craftsmen of the day-he noted that most of the artifacts found are very functional with little or no decoration. That pragmatism seems counter intuitive, since evolutionary studies seems to base the very concept of "modern" man on artistic criteria like the cave paintings of Spain and France, the Venus figurines and other artistic products: the difference between "modern humans" and "anatomically modern humans." I was also surprised by the apparent lack of a weaving/spinning tradition in the Isles until the 1st millennium. It seems so basic to the culture of other places, that it's late introduction here is surprising.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, May 23, 2007

By 

morrigan's wolf - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Age of Stonehenge (Hardcover)

This book is the most comprehensive overview of found objects and conclusive evidence that I have read to date. It is old, but that doesn't matter, since the material it covers is much older. Fascinating! A little difficult to get through at times, but factual, and therefore and invaluable resource.