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The Late Neolithic

Submitted by Seren Langley on Mon, 2009-07-06 11:07
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Ring of Brodgar The Late Neolithic ranges from 3200 BC to 2200 BC, or some 5,200 years ago. During this time people built and created permanent structures which archaeologists have associated with their belief systems and/or technology and industry. This page explores some of the many sites associated with the Late Neolithic, some of the important facts about the period and ways in which we can learn about the Late Neolithic with archaeology.

Late Neolithic Sites

There are many sites from the Late Neolithic which are open to visitors, such as the Ring of Brodgar (2,500 BC) on the Mainland, Orkney To explore some of these sites, visit our Late Neolithic Sites page.

Some Important Facts about the Late Neolithic

Although this period is still called the Neolithic, it was very different to the Early Neolithic. People were no longer building causewayed enclosures, long barrows or cursuses (some say the plural of cursus is cursuus: pronounced ‘cursoos’!). Instead, new types of site appear, like henges and stones circles, and passage graves. People were still farming, and still using the same kinds of stone tools though. They were also still mining for flint and quarrying for stone.

Burial Practices

Burial of individual people with grave goods became much more important. It may be that there were more powerful and wealthier people than before, or people may have been much more concerned to show their status to others (showing off).

Religious beliefs might have been changing too, with the ancestors being less important than ‘gods’ in the heavens who could influence the weather and yearly cycle of growing and harvesting crops. Many important sites of this period were oriented on key astronomical events, such as where the sun would rise on the horizon in mid-summer or mid-winter.

Henges
A henge is a circular area surrounded by a bank and ditch. The ditch is usually on the inside of the bank. Ditches outside of banks are military defences, a ditch on the inside is useless for defence. The bank of a henge hides the inside from being seen, and it is likely that henges were used for sacred religious ceremonies. People would come from scattered farmsteads over a wide area to the henge. Some henges had wooden or stone circles inside, some had burials, and some had a variety of other features like pits. Neolithic henges tend to be large and have one entrance.

Passage graves and structures

Some burial sites were made of a large circular mound of earth or cairn of stones covering a burial chamber that was reached down a long narrow passage. Some of these passage graves were very large and impressive. The passage can often be aligned on significant sunrise or sunset. Only a few select people would be buried at these sites, perhaps the most powerful in the community, or their ancestors.

Stonehenge
Stone circles
There are many sizes and shapes of stone circle. Neolithic circles tend to be quite large, and have many stones ranged in a circle or oval shape. Inside the circle there may be burials, small stone chambers and pits. Sometimes there are burials. Many circles seem to have special stones: larger or smaller than the rest, or lying flat on their side, which may point to significant rising or setting of the moon or the sun. They could mark special times of the year, like midsummer or midwinter. People might then have come to the circles for religious ceremonies. They may be the equivalent of henges in parts of Britain where stone was easy to find and use.

Use of Copper

Towards the end of the period, around 4,500 years ago, a new material began to be used. This was copper. Copper is not as good as flint or stone for most things, but was shiny, new and hard to get hold of. It would have been of great value. Some archaeologists are now saying we need to talk about a British Copper Age between the Neolithic and Bronze Age. The earliest gold objects were also being used by the end of the Late Neolithic.

Pottery and Grooved Ware

New styles of pottery were made in this period. Bowls became highly decorated, and flat-bottomed tubs called Grooved Ware were made. The same decoration on the Grooved Ware is also found carved on stone in houses and passage graves. One theory about some of the Grooved Ware tubs is that were used for brewing beer. Alongside the copper, a new kind of pottery is found: Beakers. These were upright beakers for drinking out of, very finely made and highly decorated. They are also found with new kinds of stone tool like barbed and tanged arrowheads.

Some archaeologists think that Beakers were brought over by immigrants from Europe, while others think that they were adopted by the native British copying high status Europeans. Burials of people and families in graves under a small round barrow become common during this ‘Copper Age’. Bodies were laid on their side with their legs drawn up to the chest, and would have pots, stone tools and jewellery laid in the grave with them.

Finding out about the Late Neolithic with Archaeology

Some of the archaeological subjects which study the Late Neolithic and professional Archaeologists who work with the Late Neolithic include:

If you are interested in learning more about studying Late Neolithic Archaeology please visit the CBA’s Studying Archaeology page.

Glossary

Chert
A rock like flint but not as fine, used for making tools where flint was rare.
Trilithons
Two large upright stones, joined on the top by a large flat stone.