Death, identity and the body in neolithic Britain

Generations of prehistorians have offered a series of interpretations of a change in mortuary practice which took place during the Neolithic period in Britain (4000-2500 BC). The decline of communal tombs and the introduction of single grave burial has been understood in terms of population movement, increasing social hierarchy, ideological change, or a shift from ancestor rituals to funerals. This article considers the treatment of the human body in death, and offers an interpretation which stresses changing relationships between the living and the dead. © Royal Anthropological Institute 2000.