Egalitarian Eutopias in the Neolithic: Not Likely

Archaeology has tended to promote the notion that Neolithic societies were generally egalitarian and the emergence of stratified society (Chiefdoms) is an Iron Age phenomenon. Humans in prehistory are often depicted as 'noble savages', who wore animal furs and were in a constant battle with the environment and wild animals, but who were otherwise living some hippy-eutopia where everybody makes everything they own.

Rick Schulting (Queens University Belfast) has been examining Neolithic human crania and has discovered some interesting facts which contradict the egalitarian eutopia model. Between 4000 and 3200 BC the crania Schulting studied from British long barrows suggest a relatively high rate of blunt trauma injury (c.1 in 14), whilst in Orkney the figure can be as high as c.1 in 5. Yes Schulting had a relatively small sample (350 skulls), and they possibly represent a specific group (where are the crania of everybody who didn't get buried in long barrows?), but we can only use the available material - we cannot examine what we do not have access to.

If we factor-in the very considerable archaeological evidence for conflict in the Neolithic (long bone trauma, projectile points embedded in human skeletons, presence of weapons, evidence for settlement destruction) it seems very likely that Schulting is on the right track.

Moving the Stonehenge Bluestones: St Fagans Festival of Archaeology

Last weekend The National History Museum of Wales at St. Fagans hosted the 2011 Festival of Archaeology weekend event :- Stone Moving Experiments organised by Dr Steve Burrows (National Museum of Wales).

As I've had my own say about how Neolithic people may have moved the heavy stones they used in their megalithic architecture (British Archaeology magazine march/April 2011) it was great to be invited to attend St Fagan's and participate in yet another stone-moving experiment.

Phil Morgan is a Welsh engineer who brought some of his engineering knowledge to bear on the age-old question archaeologists are frequently asked - "How did people move such heavy stones at the time of Stonehenge?"

I really liked Phil's use of A-frames to drag the wooden sled and stone - I think it's basically a good way of moving heavy weights. Definitely shows potential for manoeuvering the stones into place once at site. I'm not sure the method would have been used to move stones any great distance, but it was great to see the equipment Phil had designed and the hands-on experience again reminded me of the not inconsiderable obstacles Neolithic people encountered and overcame when building their megalithic tombs and stone circles.

New Zealand Maori stone adze is an amazing find

Archaeologist Pam Chester found an amazing Neolithic Maori stone adze during the excavation of the rugby club at Para-Plim in New Zealand.

Although it's not always possible to tell from a photograph, the ground blade of this adze exhibits the characteristic tell-tale longitudinal scars left behind by wood-working. Adze likes this were used for canoe-building, plank-making and general woodworking (structural timbers for Maori fortifications, houses and jettys etc).