Recent aDNA research has shed new light on genomic variation associated with the spread of Beaker material culture. In revealing a massive population replacement across the Neolithic Bronze Age transition within Britain, the genetic work has re-directed attention to the migration/diffusion debate.
This had previously been played out using archaeological evidence - primarily the stereotyped Beaker burials. I argue that a broader reconsideration of the available burial evidence is required in order to move past the culture-historical view of period change and bring archaeological data back into the forefront of academic and popular understandings of this transition period. Presenting a new analysis of Beaker-period burial practices, I seek to re-examine the evidence for relationships between groups and peoples in Britain during the period of genomic change, and consider from this how we can build a more nuanced understanding of the cultural changes that occur at this time.
Anna Bloxam (UCL Institute of Archaeology)
TAG Deva 2018
Session: Rethinking Transitions
