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Rodney Castleden

The Stonehenge People: An Exploration of Life in Neolithic Britain 4700-2000 BC Paperback – 29 Mar. 1990

by Rodney Castleden (Author)

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

ISBN-10

0415040655
ISBN-13

978-0415040655
Edition

1st
Publication date

29 Mar. 1990
Language

English
Dimensions

13.79 x 1.73 x 21.59 cm
Print length

300 pages
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Product description

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

`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

`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 Casdeden is a geographer and geomorphologist by training and has been actively involved in research on landscape processes and prehistory for the last twenty years. He is also the author of The Knossos Labyrinth (1989), Minoans (1990) and The Making of Stonehenge (I993).

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Routledge; 1st edition (29 Mar. 1990)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 300 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0415040655
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0415040655
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.79 x 1.73 x 21.59 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 1,099,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 217 in Prehistory
- 626 in Prehistoric Archaeology
- 1,920 in Archaeology by Region

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15 ratings

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31 offers from £17.50

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Rodney Castleden

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Lawrence Carney

Well researched account of a time that continues to fascinate

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 October 2016

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Stonehenge is fascinating, of that there is no doubt. The book throws up some interesting takes on what life was like in this period.

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Seeking the neolithic

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 January 2006

I really enjoyed reading this! It is what I had been looking for – a book to explain the mysterious stone monuments spotted around Britain and Ireland. Intensely readable, Castledon boldly attempts to reconstruct the culture of a people whose way of life died out 4,000 years ago, and whose remains have been discarded, destroyed and re-interpreted by the many cultures which have followed; but what is left after all this time? What is there to reconstruct?

Castleden says: “The way to the truth is to try to forget Stonehenge in the first instance, to study the archaeology of other sites, and to try to piece the whole culture together like a jigsaw, starting with the corners and edges and working gradually in towards the centre; the most interesting parts of the puzzle-picture come last… Parts 1&2 of the book dealing with the material culture and Parts 3&4 going in to the more difficult areas of social and political structure and religion.”
Diagrams and photos throughout the text illustrate his points well, and using as much evidence as is available he attempts to complete the puzzle, for example, using evidence from near-contemporary Scandinavia to look at clothing. The final chapters on society and religion are very thought-provoking. The people remain intriguingly elusive and always will, but Castelden’s exploration captures the very essence of their culture and at times they felt very much alive.

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Stephen A. Haines

From the ground up

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 September 2005

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. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

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