The Stonehenge People: An Exploration of Life in Neolithic Britain 4700-2000 BC [Paperback]

Rodney Castleden (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415040655 | ISBN-13: 978-0415040655 | Publication Date: December 22, 1992 | Edition: Reprint

Rodney Castleden presents an illuminating and convincing interpretation of Stonhenge's cultural context and historical meaning.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`...readable and useful...where a new or alternative idea is presented, it is clearly described...well balanced in approach and style, taking the reader as far as the evidence is likely to allow and no further.' - Nature

`This richly illustrated book will give the reader a profound insight into the mysteries and daily life of the ancient inhabitants of Britain.' - New Humanity

`The book is an ambitious attempt to bring the Neolithic period to life.' - The London Archaeologist

`A feast is in store for you. We are taken skilfully on an archaelogical tour of other ancient monuments and tombs in Britain and Ireland without ever getting bored or distracted. You want to re-read the book and let your own imagination roam in those far off days and see what implications this has on our present day existence. A marvellous book.' - New Humanity

`... readable and useful ... Wherever a new or alternative idea is presented it is clearly described ... well balanced in approach and style, taking the reader as far as the evidence is likely to allow and no further.' - Nature

`This imaginative book ... [contains] a richness of expression not usually encountered in archaeological books ... The book is an ambitious attempt to bring the Neolithic period to life, and the author has some interesting and sometime provocative statements to make.' - The London Archaeologist

`A feast is in store for you. We are taken skilfully on an archaeological tour of other ancient monuments and tombs in Britain and Ireland, without ever getting bored or distracted. You want to re-read the book and let your own imagination roam in those far off days and see what implications this has on our present day existence. A marvellous book.' - New Humanity

About the Author

Rodney Castleden is a geographer and geomorphologist, and has researched landscape processes and prehistory for the last twenty years. He is author of The Minoans (Routledge, 1990), The Knossos Labyrinth (Routledge, 1989), and The Wilmington Giant (1983).

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; Reprint edition (December 22, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415040655
• ISBN-13: 978-0415040655
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,304,467 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From the ground up, March 31, 2003

By 

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Stonehenge People: An Exploration of Life in Neolithic Britain 4700-2000 BC (Paperback)

This work is among the best overviews of Neolithic life available. It's well written and covers a breadth of topics and ideas. Using the best evidence available, he breaks away from traditional approaches to reconstruct prehistoric society. Instead of stripping away modern elements to derive Neolithic life, Castleden builds the picture of that society from its basics. Opening with a portrayal of the Neolithic environment, he envisions how people would react to conditions then.

Environmental constraints and overuse of resources forced changes in lifestyle over the centuries. Neolithic peoples originally inhabited the fertile landscape as farmers. Their crops, however, quickly depleted the soil. Castleden cites a study in Denmark of Neolithic einkorn wheat reducing soil nutrients in only three seasons. Loss of fertility drove people to new locations or converted to a pastoral existence. In either case, the ommunities remained small and tightly integrated, with settlements only a few kilometres apart. The conditions also inhibited experimenting in farming or lifestyles. Maintenance of a secure life took precedence over trying the novel. The resulting conservatism led to a commonalty of thinking. We see evidence of that in the multitude of Neolithic religious sites. Stonehenge, Avebury,
Woodhenge, are distinct from each other in many ways, but their basic pattern is consistent.

Conservative rural life instilled fertility rituals dealing with crops and cattle breeding. Respect for surviving elders led to cults dealing with death. Castleden argues that it wasn't worship of the dead, but death itself that occupied their thoughts and practices. Burial rituals and cemetaries ultimately produced the great henges and stone monuments. Castleden acknowledges that the artefacts associated with the ditches, banks and the stone circles are the chief source of information we have in conceiving Neolithic life. One missing element, and he finds this highly significant, are structures for defence or other evidence of conflict. There are no large collections of arrowheads or spear blades found at the henge sites. From this he derives Neolithic society as essentially peaceful, with communities acting in relative harmony. Such an environment facilitated trade and information exchange. He traces the major likely trade routes across Southern Britain and across to Brittany in France. This view counters the long-held belief that these people were kept brutish and ignorant by being in a constant state of battle. He rightly argues that such a social milieu wouldn't have allowed the construction of such sites as Avebury or Stonehenge. He can't resist comparison with modern societies.

Castleden has enhanced a fluent presentation with numerous photographs, diagrams and maps. There is some presentation of contending views on various aspects of the topic. Perhaps the most surprising topic is the enigma of Stonehenge's source of the massive bluestones. Rejecting the "glacial erratics" position of Aubrey Burl, Castleden accepts the Presli Hills source. However, he proposes the most novel form of transport yet suggested.
Instead of the usual Presli to Severn Estuary route some propose, Castleden argues for an all-sea route around Land's End. He contends some form of trimaran would easily make the journey. Oxen-pulled sledges managed the final leg.

Although this book focuses on southern Britain of the era, the approach can be successfully applied elsewhere, even for other times. Castleden's easy prose and frank approach to the material makes this book useful and informative...