A dynastic elite in monumental Neolithic society.

ABSTRACT: The nature and distribution of political power in Europe during the Neolithic era remains poorly understood¹. During this period, many societies began to invest heavily in building monuments, which suggests an increase in social organization. The scale and sophistication of megalithic architecture along the Atlantic seaboard, culminating in the great passage tomb complexes, is particularly impressive². Although co-operative ideology has often been emphasised as a driver of megalith construction¹, the human expenditure required to erect the largest monuments has led some researchers to emphasize hierarchy³-of which the most extreme case is a small elite marshalling the labour of the masses. Here we present evidence that a social stratum of this ty

SUBMITTER: Cassidy LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7116870 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature