The Neolithic Settlement of the Yorkshire Dales

The Neolithic archaeology of the Yorkshire Dales is widely acknowledged, but poorly understood. The research presented in thesis is the first time that all the archaeological evidence has been quantified and synthesised to provide an informed view of settlement in the Yorkshire Dales for period 4000-2500 cal. BC. Rather than being an isolated, empty upland landscape during the Neolithic, the results of this study indicate that areas of Upper Wharfedale and the Ingleborough massif were settled on both an episodic and persistent basis from the earliest Neolithic. Indeed, a discussion of the timing of the Mesolithic to Neolithic transition finds many of the defining Neolithic cultural changes to be underway at the same time as the adjacent counties, with contact beyond the area maintained by a long tradition of moving flint resources across an east-west axis. Within this work, the Yorkshire Dales is presented as a Neolithic ‘buffer zone’ for the earliest burial monument building styles, with architectural influences from both the megalithic and earthen barrow building traditions apparent. The accepted chronologies of several of the larger burial cairns are challenged, burial practices are reviewed, and regional-scale mobility is suggested. As a later Neolithic phenomenon, the henges of the Wharfe Valley are put forward as evidence of a growing population, increasing social complexity, and an associated wider world view.

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10454/19890

Type

Thesis

Qualification name

PhD