People of the Long Barrows - Martin Smith, Megan Brickley

Human remains can answer all sorts of questions about our ancestors - what sort of diet they ate, what age they lived to, what sort of living conditions they experienced and how they died. The Neolithic is the earliest period from which significant numbers of human burials survive in Britain. This book looks at the history of the study of such burials and how new scientific techniques have massively expanded what we know about our Neolithic ancestors. As well as the treatment of the dead, issues such as health and subsistence are considered, along with evidence of conflict and also the extent to which the people of Neolithic Britain can be considered a distinct population. This is the only book specifically dedicated to human remains from the Neolithic and fills an important gap left by other books on the period.