Axe-heads and Identity
An investigation into the roles of imported axe-heads in identity formation in Neolithic Britain
By (author) Katharine Walker
Paperback (Published)
(January 2018)
ISBN: 9781784917449
8.07 x 11.42 inches
Price: $80.00
In stock
This volume seeks to re-assess the significance accorded to the body of stone and flint axe-heads imported into Britain from the Continent which have until now often been poorly understood, overlooked and undervalued in Neolithic studies.
The significant body of stone and flint axe-heads imported into Britain from the Continent has been poorly understood, overlooked and undervalued in Neolithic studies, particularly over the past half century. It is proposed, in this study, that the cause is a bias of British Neolithic scholarship against the invasion hypothesis and diffusionist model, and it is sought therefore to re-assess the significance accorded to these objects. The aim is to redress the imbalance by re-focusing on the material, establishing a secure evidence base, and exploring the probable conditions in which these often distinctive items made their way to Britain. The narrative presented here rests upon the argument that imported axe-heads came into what is today called Britain as objects of considerable significance. Specifically, they were items of high symbolic value that played a crucial role in fostering particular ways of thinking about, and addressing, social identity in the Neolithic period. These issues are the context for the study, whose main objectives are the close and detailed cataloguing of relevant material, and a documentation of the investigative work needed to establish the credentials of each artefact.
- By (author) Katharine Walker
'It is excellent to see all the disparate data collectedtogether with a persistent reminder of the problem of fakes and manuports (mostaxe-heads are stray finds, others form part of donated antiquarian collections,or, these days, bought on eBay); it allows, for the first time, an overview ofthe ‘oddities’. This clearly shows that a re-examination of the material is overdue,and the need for the original lithological descriptions/attributions to beconfirmed is the author’s constant and timely cry (but for safe progress itmust to be done by a competent petrographer). The questions this book(re-)raises are important and are clarified. Most notably (placing jade to oneside), why, after the early Neolithic, were so very few axes imported?' –Rob Ixer (2018): CurrentArchaeology #343
‘Overall, this book provides a wealth of interestingideas and observations of the British Neolithic and its relations with itsnearest neighbours. It highlights what the author has rightly identified as agreatly neglected class of objects… For those with a fascination for stonetools, this provides an enjoyable wander through the problems and pitfalls, butalso the considerable potential, of axeheads with possible Continentalassociations.’ – Barry Bishop (2019): Archaeological Journal,DOI: 10.1080/00665983.2019.1591070
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