European Prehistory

This volume explores how and why people built enclosures in European prehistory, from their first appearance in the Neolithic to the creation of elaborate fortifications in the Iron Age. The articles here originated as a session at the Seventh Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists, in 2001, and are written by well-known prehistorians from around Europe. They bring new evidence from new discoveries, and new ideas about old discoveries, to a wider discussion of issues that affect archaeologists of all periods.

Films such as "Gladiator", "Braveheart", and "Attila the Hun" and books on people such as the Vikings and Celts are drawing attention to the ancient people of Europe. With the end of the Cold War, there is also renewed interest in the people formerly behind the Iron Curtain, such as the Kosovars or Estonians. Other people, like the Basques and Walloons, continue to be in the media, although the historical context for the present conflict is often not well understood…

It can be argued that elements of European heritage can be identified not only as a national strategy of the present but also as a process in prehistory - the cultural and political transformations of the third millennium BC in European prehistory sparking off this process.

This book addresses the main enigmas of Easter Island’s (Rapa Nui, in the Polynesian language) prehistory from the time of initial settlement to European contact with a multidisciplinary perspective. The main topics include: (i) the time of first settlement and the origin of the first settlers; (ii) the main features of prehistoric Rapanui culture and their changes; (iii) the deforestation of the island and its timing and causes; (iv) the extinction of the indigenous biota, (v) the occurrence of climatic shifts and their potential effects on socioecological trends; (vi) the evidence for a cultural and demographic collapse before European contact; and (vii) the influence of Europeans on prehistoric Rapanui society.