Islands of history: the Late Neolithic timescape of Orkney

Whittle, Alasdair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6811-8724, Bayliss, Alexandra, Richards, Colin and Marshall, Peter 2017. Islands of history: the Late Neolithic timescape of Orkney. Antiquity 91 (359) , pp. 1171-1188. 10.15184/aqy.2017.140

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Abstract

Orkney is internationally recognised for its exceptionally well-preserved Neolithic archaeology. The chronology of the Orcadian Neolithic is, however, relatively poorly defined. We analysed a large body of radiocarbon and luminescence dates, formally modelled in a Bayesian framework, to address the timescape of the Orkney Late Neolithic. The resultant chronology for the period suggests differences in the trajectory of social change between the 'core' (defined broadly as the World Heritage site) and the 'periphery' beyond. Activity in the core appears to have declined markedly from c. 2800 cal BC, which, we suggest, resulted from unsustainable local political tensions and social concerns.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	History, Archaeology and Religion
Publisher:	Antiquity Publications
ISSN:	0003-598X
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	3 August 2017
Date of Acceptance:	24 November 2016
Last Modified:	16 Nov 2023 23:25
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/99508

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