Power Pulses Across a Cultural Divide: Cosmologically Driven Acquisition Between Armorica and Wessex

Abstract

Understanding of the nature and significance of connections between Armorica and southern Britain in the Early Bronze Age has been inhibited by poorly refined chronologies. The Armorican grave series is now believed to span seven to eight centuries (c. 2300/2200–1500 BC) and association patterns are used to suggest five assemblages (series 1–5). In the absence of many skeletal remains, structural and organisational evidence is gleaned to suggest that some tombs were not immutably sealed and were used more than once. It is suggested that the accumulation of successive grave groups, primarily in series 2 and 4, is one factor blurring signs of chronological progression, whilst added complexity derives from regional shifts.A review of specific artefact types and burial rites on the two sides of the western Channel gives little credence to the migration of more than occasional individuals. On the contrary, an essential autonomy in the way that materials and artefacts are employed by elites comes through, yet this is set against some important material connections. The conundrum is resolved by suggesting that inter-dependence was actually limited and that the procurement of exotic materials/goods was driven by ‘cosmological acquisition’ needs which, if anything, maintained real differences between distant participating societies. In Wessex, however, the growth of this mode of extracting ideological capital from long-range contacts was to have profound consequences for superordinate centres based around Late Neolithic ceremonial complexes – their ultimate transformation and eclipse.

Argonauts of the North Sea - a Social Maritime Archaeology for the 2nd MillenniumBC

“…Using Helm's (1988) terms and Needham's (2000) archaeological inferences of these, both the vertical (ie geographical distance) and horizontal (ie ancestral) dimensions of connections with the other world were clearly present here, and the choice of location for seafaring boats to depart to, or arrive from, distant countries was an unambiguous one. Seafaring at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC thus linked the 'fixation on genealogy' of the Late Neolithic with the importance of social networks, esoteric knowledge, and exotic goods.…”

“…The socio-political contexts of the Ferriby, Kilnsea, Caldicot 1 and Dover boats indicate in each case the presence of regional elite groups who were engaged in long-distance exchange of goods, with the contents of the furnished graves showing interaction with other regions in the British Isles, continental Europe and, in the case of the Severn region, with Ireland as well (for the regional contexts see, for example, Manby 1976;1980;1988;Manby et al 2003 (Helms 1988, 66;Needham 2000). As was the case for the Argo and the boats used in long-distance travel in the western Pacific, the evidence for this period does not suggest any 'special' treatment of the craft themselves.…”

“…An important role in this activity may have been played by long-distance specialists, or translators (both in the literary and figurative sense). This work, and the archaeological applications of these ideas (eg in Beck & Shennan 1991;Broodbank 1993;Needham 2000;Kristiansen 2004;Ling 2004), form an important stimulus for this study.…”

El túmulo de la Edad del Bronce de Ty Korn en el pueblo de Gouesnac’h (Finistère)

“…par exemple les tumulus de Lothéa à Quimperlé, Juno-Bella à Berrien), la forme des tombes n'est jamais circulaire ou ovalaire alors que c'est le cas de nombreuses sépultures néolithiques. Dans la phase initiale de la culture des tumulus armoricains (Needham, 2000), un type architectural « intermédiaire » peut-il être envisagé ou, sans pouvoir y répondre, la question d'une réutilisation et d'une restructuration volontaire d'un monument néolithique par un groupe de l'âge du Bronze peut-elle être posée ?…”

Pursuing ‘the Pressure of the Past’: British Prehistoric Research, 1980–2010

“…Rather the themes of 'structured deposition' (Guttmann & Last 2000;Kirk & Williams 2000), 'landscape perceptions', 'power relations' (Needham 2000), 'social identity', 'metaphorical associations' (Kirk & Williams 2000), and the inter-relationship between 'ritual and everyday practice' (Guttmann & Last 2000) continue to be prevalent in articles from each of these years. Rather the themes of 'structured deposition' (Guttmann & Last 2000;Kirk & Williams 2000), 'landscape perceptions', 'power relations' (Needham 2000), 'social identity', 'metaphorical associations' (Kirk & Williams 2000), and the inter-relationship between 'ritual and everyday practice' (Guttmann & Last 2000) continue to be prevalent in articles from each of these years.…”