The idea of residence in the neolithic Cotswolds.

This thesis is an investigation of the idea of residence in the British Neolithic carried out at a regional level. The aim is to produce a clearer understanding of ideas and modes of residence as experienced by groups residing in the Cotswolds between the Later Mesolithic and the Early Bronze Age. This is undertaken through the use of lithic assemblages in combination with other sources of monumental and topographical information. The assemblages are analysed in a series of sampling units chosen to reflect the diversity in monumentality and topography within the region.

Analysis of the assemblages is undertaken in two stages. The first establishes the validity of using Pitts’ and Jacobi’s (1979) chronometric methodology within the region and goes on to suggest a supplementary method more suited to dealing with lithic material produced within a parsimonious tradition of stone working. The second stage builds upon the chronometric patterning established in the first phase. It uses this patterning in combination with a technological and typological analysis of selected assemblages to establish the residential choices made by communities in different topographic and monumental areas. The analyses of the character of individual assemblages is then used to build an understanding of the residential choices made in different periods within individual monumental and topographical areas. Finally an attempt is made to draw out the contrasts and continuities in residential practices in the region as a whole during different periods.