The Peopling of Britain

This volume reviews the way in which, over the centuries, the evolving human presence in Britain has shaped the British landscape and how, in turn, the British landscape has moulded the development of British communities. From the beginnings of human settlement Britain has represented a final frontier for successive waves of colonists, each bringing its own set of cultural adaptations and its own ethos into the landscape. Over time both landscape and culture have matured from raw frontier to settled centre, moulded by the advent of agriculture, towns, and industry, and by streams of migration both within Britain and from outside. The chapters in this book - by archaeologists, historians, and geographers - present an interdisciplinary and accessible account of that long process. Together they trace the various phases of the story, showing how much of it has only recently been unearthed, and how much remains to be discovered.

ISBN 0198297599   Pages 307 ISBN13 9780198297598 (What's this?)   Volumes 001 Publisher Oxford University Press   Weight (grammes) 690 Imprint Oxford University Press   Published in Oxford Format Hardback   Series title Linacre Lectures Publication date 07 Mar 2002   Height (mm) 234 Library of Congress GF551.P46   Width (mm) 156 DEWEY 304.20941   Spine width (mm) 23 DEWEY edition DC21   Academic level Professional / Scholarly

		List of Contributors
		List of Figures
		List of Tables
		Introduction by Paul Slack and Ryk Ward		1
1		Early Beginnings 500,000-35,000 Years Ago by Clive Gamble		11
2		The Homo Sapiens Peopling of Europe by Paul Mellars		39
		Comment: End of Story? by Andrew Sherratt		68
3		The Coming of Agriculture: People, Landscapes, and Change c. 4000-1500 B.C. by Alasdair Whittle		77
		Comment: Significant Transitions by Colin Renfrew		110
4		Tribes and Empires c. 1500 B.C.-A.D. 500 by Barry Cunliffe		115
		Comment: Questions of Identities by Martin Millett		139
5		Kings and Warriors: Population and Landscape from Post-Roman to Norman Britain by Heinrich Harke		145
6		Plagues and Peoples: The Long Demographic Cycle, 1250-1670 by Richard Smith		177
		Comment: Perceptions and People by Paul Slack		211
7		Country and Town: The Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Peopling of England in the Early Modern Period by E. A. Wrigley		217
		Comment: Prometheus Prostrated? by John Langton		243
8		Empire, the Economy, and Immigration: Britain 1850-2000 by Ceri Peach		255
		Index		281

I feel sure that the readers of LPS will enjoy this book as much as I did ... At the very least libraries should be urged to acquire it. Local Population Studies This is an 'exceedingly good book', as Mr Kipling might put it ... it moves smoothly from the dim and distant past to the relative clarity of the here and now. Local Population Studies The contributions are all distinguished by up-to-date engagement with the issues and the literature; they are well written and the editing has been painstaking ... a solid platform for any reader keen to grasp the current state of research on British population history and prehistory. Landscape History An inspired idea ... The contributors explain their subject succinctly and lucidly for the benefit of non-specialists ... a coherent and varied survey of the subject, which is up to date and will contain revelations for all readers ... deserves to be widely read and appreciated. English Historical Review Includes much to stimulate and inform future research. Northern History The contributions are well written and excellently coordinated into one by the Editors, to provide an interesting and useful volume with a somewhat different approach. Particularly important are the 'Comment' sections which link the various contributions into a very readable whole. The Environmentalist Perspective is the operative word for this book: it is very fruitful both for pointing up substantive historical issues and for illustrating the respective contributions of so many historical methods from environmental archaeology to demography. Antiquity This is a valuable collection of the latest work and a book that will interest historians as well as geographers and archaeologists. Contemporary Review Immigration is the day's most dangerous and divisive concern, which makes this cool, studious, apolitical little book all the more precious ... if ever you find yourself reading a Daily Mail polemic on immigration and thumping the table uncontrollably, stretch for this volume and restore your sanity with a long view of history. Country Life

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