This new title in the acclaimed Prehistoric Society Research Papers series focuses on the introduction of Neolithic extraction practices across Europe through to the Atlantic periphery of Britain and Ireland. The key research questions are when and why these practices were adopted, and what role extraction sites played in Neolithic society.
Neolithic mines and quarries have frequently been seen as fulfilling economic roles linked to the expansion of the Neolithic economy. However, this ignores the fact that many communities chose to selectively dig for certain types of stone in preference to others, and why the products from these sites were generally deposited in special places such as wetlands. To address this question, 168 near-global ethnographic studies were analysed to identify common trends in traditional extraction practises to produce robust statistics about their motivations and material signatures. Repeated associations emerged between storied locations, the organisation of extraction practises, long-distance distribution of products, and the material evidence such activities left behind. This suggests that we can now probably identify mythologised/storied sites, seasonality, ritualised extraction, and the uselife of extraction site products.
The ethnographic model was tested against data from 223 near-global archaeological extraction sites which confirmed a similar patterning in both material records, suggesting it can be used to interpret broad trends in many cross-cultural contexts and time periods.
Finally, the new ethnoarchaeological model has been used to analyse the social context of 79 Neolithic flint mine and 51 axe quarry excavations in Britain and Ireland, and to review their European origins. The evidence which emerges confirms the pivotal role played by Neolithic extraction practices in European Neolithisation, and that the interaction of indigenous foragers with migrant miner/farmers in Britain, Ireland and elsewhere was fundamental to the adoption of the new agro-pastoral lifestyle.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of figures and tables
• Author details
• Abstract
• French language abstract
• German language abstract
• Spanish language abstract
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword, by John Kelly
• Dedication
• 1. Setting the scene: the Mesolithic prelude and first contact Neolithic
  • The Mesolithic prelude in Europe
  • Materiality and placed deposits during the European Mesolithic
  • What trends emerge from the Mesolithic data?
  • The appearance of Neolithic extraction
  • Overall trends during the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition
• 2. The ethnography of lithic extraction
  • Research methodology
  • The analysis of 168 ethnographic studies
  • Implications for the archaeological record
• 3. Ethnographic snapshots of traditional extraction practices
  • Storied sources
  • Ownership or restricted access to extraction sites
  • Seasonal use
  • Age/sex demographic of extraction site workers
  • Evidence for ritualised extraction
  • Evidence for ritualised production
  • Extraction site product functionality
  • The involvement of craft specialists
  • Distribution of extraction site products
  • The presence of rock art, graffiti, or idols at extraction sites
• 4. The archaeology of lithic extraction
  • Distinctive landscape settings and/or raw material
  • Evidence for ownership/restricted access
  • Evidence for seasonal use
  • The age/sex demographic of extraction participants
  • The evidence for ritualised extraction
  • Ceremonialism
  • Product functionality
  • Craft specialist artefact production
  • Produce distribution
  • The use of rock art, graffiti, or idols at or near extraction sites
  • The presence of burials
  • Implications for the interpretation of Neolithic extraction sites in Britain and Ireland
• 5. An ethnoarchaeological analysis of Neolithic extraction sites in Britain and Ireland
  • Landscape setting of extraction sites
  • Evidence for seasonal extraction
  • The practice of stone extraction
  • Site abandonment and rites of renewal
  • A summary of the evidence for ritualised extraction practices
• 6. The products: an ethnoarchaeological analysis of lithic objects from extraction sites
  • Issues
  • The importance of objects
  • The social value of archaeological extraction site products
  • The iconography of the axehead …
  • General trends in pan-European product deposition
  • A brief review of British and Irish depositional trends
  • Conclusions
• 7. Neolithic extraction: a pan-European phenomenon
  • Neolithisation by genome …
  • Extraction practices at the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition
  • Chronology
  • Extraction site locations
  • Extraction technology
  • On-site artefact deposition
  • Shaft fills
  • Burials
  • Hearths
  • Graffiti
  • Exchange networks and artefact distribution
  • Conclusions
• 8. Neolithic stone extraction in Britain and Europe
  • The emergence of Neolithic extraction practices
  • The social context of Neolithic extraction sites
• Bibliography
• Appendix: References to excavation reports and archives, listed alphabetically by site