Stone Tools and Society: Working Stone in Neolithic and Bronze Age Britain

The aim of this work is to explore the changing character and social roles of stone tools of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages in Britain. As well as contributing to current theoretical debate about the interpretation of material culture, this study provides a context in which to consider some of the major horizons of change in British pre-history. From stone axe quarries to the final ceremonial burial or breakage of tools at ritual monuments, Edmonds examines the evidence both regionally and chronologically. He looks at modifications in the form of tools and the methods used to produce them, taking into consideration the changing material and social conditions under which tools were produced, acquired, used and deposited. The result is the delineation of a prehistoric sequence in Britain, from the end of the Mesolithic era and the transition to Neolithic.