Pits and the architecture of deposition narratives of social practice in the neolithic of North-East England
This doctoral thesis examines the practice of depositing material culture and its relationship with social change during the Neolithic period in north-east England. For the purposes of this study the Neolithic is defined as the period in which the pottery styles of Carinated Ware, Impressed Ware and Grooved Ware were made and used. The study area encompasses County Durham, Northumberland and the now defunct county of Tyne and Wear. Previous work on Neolithic deposition has been apt to confine it within a series of dichotomous relationships: the potency of material culture versus the power of performance; rubbish versus 'meaningful' material; and the structured versus the unstructured deposit. This study demonstrates how these oppositions are unnecessarily reductive and result from modern classifications of artefacts - norms concerning the value of refuse and the role of 'symbolic' material - that have come to be imposed upon the past. By undertaking a statistical and comparative analysis of deposited material culture from the North-East, this research emphasises the complexity of past artefact classification, and the transformative role that depositional practices can have upon whole societies. It also shows
Edwards, Benjamin
Pits and the architecture of deposition narratives of social practice in the neolithic of North-East England. This doctoral thesis examines the practice of depositing material culture and its relationship with social change during the Neolithic period in north-east England. For the purposes of this study the Neolithic is defined as the period in which the pottery styles of Carinated Ware, Impressed Ware and Grooved Ware were made and used. The study area encompasses County Durham, Northumberland and the now defunct county of Tyne and Wear. Previous work on Neolithic deposition has been apt to confine it within a series of dichotomous relationships: the potency of material culture versus the power of performance; rubbish versus 'meaningful' material; and the structured versus the unstructured deposit. This study demonstrates how these oppositions are unnecessarily reductive and result from modern classifications of artefacts - norms concerning the value of refuse and the role of 'symbolic' material - that have come to be imposed upon the past. By undertaking a statistical and comparative analysis of deposited material culture from the North-East, this research emphasises the complexity of past artefact classification, and the transformative role that depositional practices can have upon whole societies. It also shows
architecture deposition narrative social_practice neolithic north_east_england doctoral examines practice deposit material_culture relationship social_change neolithic_period north_east_england purpose_study neolithic define period pottery_style ware impressed ware ware make_use study_area encompass county_durham northumberland county tyne wear previous_work neolithic deposition apt confine within series dichotomous relationship potency material_culture versus power performance rubbish versus meaningful material structure versus unstructured deposit study_demonstrate opposition unnecessarily reductive modern classification artefacts norm concern value refuse role symbolic material come impose_upon past undertake statistical comparative_analysis deposit material_culture north_east emphasise complexity past artefact classification transformative role depositional_practice upon whole society also_show