Gosh -- I thought when I saw the reference to this new article -- something sensible, at last, discussing how the bluestones and the sarsens happened to get to Stonehenge? Then I read the abstract and looked at the reference list, and discovered that this is yet another article written by somebody who is in a state of denial about the fact that there is a dispute going on in the matter of transport mechanisms. Theoretical frameworks and culminations of Neolithic social revolutions? High powered stuff, or maybe not.......
There is a long reference list (55 articles and books cited) but there appears to be no reference either to my old book or the new one, and no reference to the two peer-reviewed papers by Dyfed Elis-Griffydd, John Downes and myself. How is that possible, given the title of the paper? We live in strange times.
Shall we put those omissions down to incompetence, or down to scientific malpractice? We shall see -- I have asked for a copy of the full article, and will report back in due course..........
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What if none of the Building Stones at Stonehenge Came from Wiltshire?
by Katy A. Whitaker
January 2019
Oxford Journal of Archaeology
10.1111/ojoa.12161
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330315318_What_if_none_of_the_Building_Stones_at_Stonehenge_Came_from_Wiltshire
Abstract
The sarsen and bluestone stones at Stonehenge (Wiltshire, UK) have played a significant role in the development of twentieth‐century ideas about Neolithic and early Bronze Age social structure. Sarsen and bluestone are not, however, the only rock types used at Stonehenge. The varied stones present at the monument include previously under‐studied material, such as the normally unseen, and largely forgotten, packing stones for Stonehenge's famous settings. By reflecting on more recently developed theoretical frameworks to interpret this variety, this paper exposes the possibility that an alternative to the dominant discourse, in which Stonehenge represents the culmination of Neolithic social evolution, is possible.
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Faithful readers of this blog will recall that in 2016 Katy featured prominently in this item:
January 2019
Oxford Journal of Archaeology
10.1111/ojoa.12161
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330315318_What_if_none_of_the_Building_Stones_at_Stonehenge_Came_from_Wiltshire
Abstract
The sarsen and bluestone stones at Stonehenge (Wiltshire, UK) have played a significant role in the development of twentieth‐century ideas about Neolithic and early Bronze Age social structure. Sarsen and bluestone are not, however, the only rock types used at Stonehenge. The varied stones present at the monument include previously under‐studied material, such as the normally unseen, and largely forgotten, packing stones for Stonehenge's famous settings. By reflecting on more recently developed theoretical frameworks to interpret this variety, this paper exposes the possibility that an alternative to the dominant discourse, in which Stonehenge represents the culmination of Neolithic social evolution, is possible.
====================
Faithful readers of this blog will recall that in 2016 Katy featured prominently in this item:
https://brian-mountainman.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-myth-machine-in-good-working-order.html
There were also 39 comments, including a good many that were rather frosty...... but it's clear that she has been working on these ideas for more than 3 years.
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PS. This is what Katy says about herself on Linkedin:
Since September 2016 I have been working on my doctoral research, investigating the archaeology and history of sarsen stone use in southern Britain.
Funded by the South, West, and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership, I am co-supervised by Dr Jim Leary and Professor Martin Bell (University of Reading) and Dr Josh Pollard (University of Southampton).
My study area extends from Dorset to Kent, and expect my specific case studies to be in south-west Dorset, north Wiltshire, the Oxfordshire/Berkshire border, and the Medway Valley in Kent.
There were also 39 comments, including a good many that were rather frosty...... but it's clear that she has been working on these ideas for more than 3 years.
===================
PS. This is what Katy says about herself on Linkedin:
Since September 2016 I have been working on my doctoral research, investigating the archaeology and history of sarsen stone use in southern Britain.
Funded by the South, West, and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership, I am co-supervised by Dr Jim Leary and Professor Martin Bell (University of Reading) and Dr Josh Pollard (University of Southampton).
My study area extends from Dorset to Kent, and expect my specific case studies to be in south-west Dorset, north Wiltshire, the Oxfordshire/Berkshire border, and the Medway Valley in Kent.
1 comment:
"I am co - supervised by Dr Jim Leary and Professor Martin Bell (University of Reading)...."
No you're not, no longer so! Jim Leary has been transported, by unknown mechanisms and forces, well northwards to the University of York. Some are wondering whether Jim is now realising that the Centre of Gravity for many things prehistoric should be sited much further North than Stonehenge.
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