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Book Review
| The Peopling of Britain: The Shaping of a Human Landscape. Edited by Paul Stack and Ryk Ward. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. xi + 295 pp. Illustrations, maps, notes, index. Cloth $74.00.
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| Late in 2003, two crucial archeological discoveries were made as bulldozers stripped away topsoil to begin the construction of two separate roadways. In West Yorkshire, archeologists found a 2,500 year-old complete chariot and the skeleton of what must have been a tribal leader. Further west than expected, this discovery will lead to some significant revisions of theories on population dispersal in Iron Age Britain. Near Salisbury, the ancient remains of a 250,000 year old campfire were uncovered along with flint axes and horse bones. This may be the earliest evidence of man-made fire in Europe, indicating that early hominids used fire before the emergence of Homo sapiens. These almost simultaneous discoveries are holding up the construction of two modern roadways. Both of these examples highlight our incomplete understanding of Britain's very complex and remote past, and how far-reaching and intensive our modern societies and economies are. The Peopling of Britain, edited by Paul Slack and Ryk Ward, touches on both of these subjects. |
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This text explores how the evolving human presence in Britain shaped the British landscape. From the perspective of environmental history, this text takes the important additional step of examining how the British landscape has molded the development of British communities. The chapters that include a comment section were especially relevant as they open up these topics further and add another layer of complexity. Together these lectures and the commentaries trace the various phases of settlement, showing how much of what we know has only recently been unearthed, and how much remains to be discovered. |
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