Rocks of ages: tempo and time in megalithic monuments

Scarre, Chris

Abstract

Chronology remains a problematic area in prehistoric archaeology but the increasing number and precision of radiometric dates begin to suggest patterns that can be resolved down to the scale of individual lifetimes. The study of megalithic monuments has benefited from these developments but remains hampered by the indirect relationship between the materials that are dated and the structures themselves. Drawing on evidence from France, Scandinavia, and Iberia, it is nonetheless arguable that available patterns of dates suggest an event-like tempo to the construction of megalithic monuments, with large numbers being built within relatively short periods of time. This has implications for typological models and for the social context in which such monuments were designed and built.

Citation

Scarre, C. (2010). Rocks of ages: tempo and time in megalithic monuments. European Journal of Archaeology, 13(2), 175-193. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461957110370731

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Aug 1, 2010
• Deposit Date: Oct 18, 2010
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 15, 2010
• Journal: European Journal of Archaeology
• Print ISSN: 1461-9571
• Electronic ISSN: 1741-2722
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 175-193
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1461957110370731
• Keywords: AMS dating, Chronology, Megalithic monuments, Neolithic, Passage graves, Typology.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1538207