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Andrew Meirion Jones, Joshua Pollard, Michael J. Allen, Julie Gardiner.
Image, Memory and Monumentality: archaeological engagements with the material world.
Oxbow. 2012

This volume is presented in honour of Richard Bradley.

The 30 commissioned papers provide a major contribution to prehistory and cover the range of themes addressed by Richard’s own extensive research. Leading scholars discuss key themes in prehistoric archaeology that have defined Richard’s career, such as monumentality, memory, rock art, landscape, material worlds and field practice. The scope is broad, covering both Britain and Europe, and while the focus is very much on the archaeology of later prehistory, papers also address the interconnection between prehistory and historic and contemporary archaeology.

The result is a rich and varied tribute to Richard’s energy and intellectual inspiration.

Penny Bickle, Vicki Cummings, Daniela Hofmann, Joshua Pollard.
The Neolithic of Europe: papers in honour of Alasdair Whittle.
Oxbow. 2017

This volume contains 18 specially commissioned papers on prehistoric archaeology, written by leading international scholars. They are presented in honour of Alasdair Whittle, to celebrate the enormous impact he has had on the study of prehistory, and especially the European and British Neolithic. As with Alasdair’s own research, the coverage within this volume is broad, ranging geographically from south-east Europe to Britain and Ireland and chronologically from the Neolithic to the Iron Age, but with a decided focus on the former.

Several papers discuss new scientific approaches to key questions in Neolithic research, while others offer interpretive accounts of aspects of the archaeological record. Thematically, the main foci are on Neolithisation; the archaeology of Neolithic daily life, settlements and subsistence; as well as monuments and aspects of worldview. A number of contributions highlight the recent impact of techniques such as isotopic analysis and statistically modelled radiocarbon dates on our understanding of mobility, diet, lifestyles, events and historical processes. All authors acknowledge the enormous contribution of Alasdair to Neolithic studies and celebrate his rich career in archaeology.

Alasdair Whittle, Joshua Pollard, Susan Greaney.
Anceint DNA and the European Neolithic: relations and descent.
Oxbow. 2023

The current paradigm-changing ancient DNA revolution is offering unparalleled insights into central problems within archaeology relating to the movement of populations and individuals, patterns of descent, relationships and aspects of identity – at many scales and of many different kinds. The impact of recent ancient DNA results can be seen particularly clearly in studies of the European Neolithic, the subject of contributions presented in this volume. We now have new evidence for the movement and mixture of people at the start of the Neolithic, as farming spread from the east, and at its end, when the first metals as well as novel styles of pottery and burial practices arrived in the Chalcolithic. In addition, there has been a wealth of new data to inform complex questions of identities and relationships. The terms of archaeological debate for this period have been permanently altered, leaving us with many issues.

This volume stems from the online day conference of the Neolithic Studies Group held in November 2021, which aimed to bring geneticists and archaeologists together in the same forum, and to enable critical but constructive inter-disciplinary debate about key themes arising from the application of advanced ancient DNA analysis to the study of the European Neolithic. The resulting papers gathered here are by both geneticists and archaeologists. Individually, they form a series of significant, up-to-date, period and regional syntheses of various manifestations of the Neolithic across the Near East and Europe, including particularly Britain and Ireland. Together, they offer wide-ranging reflections on the progress of ancient DNA studies, and on their future reach and character.