Several previous Presidents, most notably Professor Sir Grahame Clark, have stressed in their presidential addresses the worldwide scope of our subject; but so far only one, my distinguished predecessor, Thurstan Shaw, has chosen to speak mainly about the prehistory of a non-European part of the world, in his case Africa (Shaw 1990). My aim today is to develop this theme by exploring three pathways to world prehistory: first, the pathway followed by the Society itself; second, the pathway that led humanity to people the world's continents; and third, the pathway that links prehistoric archaeology to the concerns of the modern world. This agenda may appear unrealistically ambitious for a short address, but, by briefly considering these three inter-twined pathways, I hope to show that the study of prehistory is not only worthwhile for its own sake, but that it also has direct relevance to the social and political problems of our late 20th century world.

On the occasion of our 50th Anniversary Conference, held in Norwich in March 1985, Grahame Clark described the eventful history of the Society, and that of its predecessor, the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia. He analyzed the trend in membership and publication that signalled the Society's transformation, from a local band of mainly amateur enthusiasts to a national society of professional and amateur prehistorians, with, increasingly, an international view of their subject (Clark 1985). The sub-title of Professor Clark's paper — From East Anglia to the World — neatly encapsulated this theme, which he illustrated by analyzing the geographical coverage of articles published in the Proceedings between 1911 and 1982: an analysis that brought up-to-date the earlier examination of publication trends that he had included in his own Presidential Address in 1959 (Clark 1959).

Prehistoric burial rites and burial finds ought to be studied also in the light of primitive soul beliefs. It is argued that the customs of submitting prestige grave goods in northern Europe during the Neolithic, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age consistently reflect a pluralistic soul idea with a free soul aimed for the next existence.

The adults appear to be healthy and relatively young. None has vertebral degeneration nor any trace of osteoarthritis. There is no dental pathology. As for age deduced from dental attrition, only the primary cremation from the timber circle (site 1) and cremation 3 from site 2 have useful molar crown fragments (either first or second). Both show some flattening of die occlusal surface but with wear limited to level 3. This would give an age of 17-25 if first molars and 25-35 if second - in any case an upper limit of 35. The secondary cremation in the timber circle (site 1) and cremation 1 in the floor of the southern ditch terminal of site 2 arc young adults between 17 and 25.

The sexing of cremations in general has to be prefaced with a ‘probable’ because of the absence of the relevant pelvic remains, Le. the complete girdle with sub-pubic angle, etc.

It is not generally known that a famous philosopher, Robin Collingwood, and an influential field archaeologist, Gerhard Bersu, excavated the same prehistoric monument in successive seasons. Their preoccupations differed, and their observations were completely inconsistent with one another. This paper relates the progress of that project and reflects on its implications for archaeological theory and practice.

Sues (mm) and ages arc estimated minima. Only floated material over 1mm was analysed.

The Radiocarbon dates were calibrated using the University of Washington Qaternary Research Centres computer programme CALIB, rev 3.0.1 (Stuiver & Reimer 1993). Dr J Ambers, British Museum Dept of Scientific Research helped arrange and interpret the dates for Sam -y-bryn-caled (sites 1 and 2) and Coed-y-Dinas (Site 3).

The purpose of this paper is to review the current evidence for plant use in Mesolithic Europe and to summarize its implications. In order to do so, four sources of data are examined: macrobotanical remains, palynological data, artefactual evidence, and the human biological record.

A prelimary survey of palaeobotanical evidence for plant use in the Mesolithic indicates that the evidence is far more extensive than expected hitherto and that accumulations of plant food, especially of nuts, point to their regular and extensive use. In those areas such as Britain, where a large number of fine-resolution palynological studies have been carried out, the incidence of clearance and burning phases seems to be too high to be explained by acts of nature alone. A good case can be made for deliberate forest clearance and the maintenance of a more open landscape by Late Mesolithic groups as part of a promotional strategy to increase the productivity of nut and fruit trees and shrubs, wetland plants, and possibly native grasses.

Artefactual evidence points to a widespread distribution of soil-working tools (hoes and antler mattocks), especially in temperate Europe, and to a greater than expected presence of reaping and grinding equipment, lending conditional support for the existence of a specialized plant processing tool kit for digging, reaping, and plant processing.

Palaeopathological evidence indicates the existence of a dietary pattern in the west Mediterranean making extensive use of starchy and carbohydrate foods which resulted in a high caries rate among the Mesolithic population of that area.

In discussing the signiftcanse of these four lines of evidence, it is argued that, by the Late Mesolithic, the patterns of plant use support the notion of wild plant food husbandry instead of the incidental and opportunistic use of plants for food which has implicitly been accepted as a norm for the Mesolithic in Europe. Three geographical areas can be identified with their specific pattern of plant use: temperate Europe, Mediterranean Europe, and the south-eastern Balkans/Pontic Steppe. The patterns of plant use suggested in this paper emphasize the additive nature of the adoption of the agro-pastoral Neolithic farming practices in Europe.

A sample of burnt clay (SBC 1), recovered from context 80, c. 0.5 m deep in the central pit of the umber ciicle, was examined by thermoluminescence (TL). The clay was expected to be either Bronze Age or Iron Age in date, being associated either with the timber circle or with the Iron Age metal working in the top of the central pit.

The TL dating method measures the time that has elapsed since the heating of the material (which zeroes the TL signal). The measurement consists of firstly a determination of the radiation dose received by the sample since its heating (through the examination of its TL) and secondly an assessment of the rate at which the radiation dose was received (carried out by radioactivity measurements). Further descriptions of the method are given by Aitken (1985) and Zimmerman (1971).

The outer 2 mm or more of the sample were cut away to remove those pans that had been exposed to light and to the alpha and beta activity of the surrounding sediment The interior piece was crushed, and fine grains of 2-10 mu were separated by suspension in dilute hydrochloric acid. The grains were then washed in water, methanol and acetone before deposition onto aluminium discs.

A reindeer antler object found in Northamptonshire possesses the characteristic traits of a Lyngby axe. Such implements are themselves characteristic of the Late Glacial of northern Europe but hitherto unknown in Britain. A direct radiocarbon accelerator date of 10, 320±150 BP (OxA–803) confirms the typological dating and places it amongst a small number of finds which link Britain with the Ahrensburgian phase in Europe. The function of the axe cannot be determined, but consideration of its features throws some light on this problem.

Samples of fired clay (L595), Peterborough Ware (L596. LS97, L598) and Beaker pottery (L599-602) were submitted for examination. They were studied using a x20 binocular microscope and in thin-section. The thin-sections were prepared using Dickson’s Method of saining, which distinguishes various types of carbonaie, although in this case none of the samples contained calcareous inclusions.

The dun sections were examined using a standardised procedure and die abundance, maximum size and any relevant comments were recorded for the following inclusion types:

The Newgrange passage tomb is examined for evidence of ‘Neolithic science’. Claims that it incorporated an astronomical alignment, and was constructed using Pythagorean geometry and the megalithic yard are reviewed as are scientific interpretations of its art. A new analysis of the tomb's structure reveals that it was based on a simple geometric shape measurable by a 13.1 m unit of length. The locations of particular motifs and decorated surfaces are shown to conform to the spatial relationships evident in the tomb's form. These are defined in terms of oppositions between left and right, front and back, inside and outside, visible and hidden, as well as making reference to symbols found in the art of the neighbouring passage tomb at Knowth.

These features are interpreted, not as evidence of a specificically scientific discourse in the Irish Neolithic, but as the elaboration of elements common to the passage tomb ritual discourse. Competition for political control, in the context of mortuary practices, resulted in the increasing formalization and rigid interpretation of passage tomb symbolizm, and the ritualization of new areas of knowledge.

Spatial separation between the English and Scottish distributions of jade axes gives validity to the latter as a discrete entity, the characteristics of which are examined. The majority of Scottish finds are large, thin, highly polished axeheads, unmatched in continental Europe, for which no datable contexts can be found. Distribution of these ceremonial axes is dispersed widely across Scotland south-east of the Great Glen, with little display of cultural exclusivity. Details of circumstances of recovery are reviewed, confirming the prevalence of deliberate deposition in both funerary and watery contexts.

Notes are appended additional to the Catalogue and Supplements of Jade Axes published by Campbell Smith (1963; 1965; 1972) and by Jones et al. (1977).

Ten amorphous copper alloy fragments from Sam-y-bryn-caled, Powys, were submitted to the Department of Scientific Research for analysis. They were analysed qualitatively using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to identify the major and trace elements. Three of the larger fragments were alto analysed quantitatively using inductively-coupled plasma spectrometry (ICP), allowing their compositions to be compared with other analyses of bronze age mctalwork (e.g. Northover, 1980).

In additionna number of clay/daub fragments ant i possible piece of slag from the upper levels of the central pit were analysed to try and determine whether they were connected with metalworking.

More than 70 years ago an early Predynastic culture was discovered in the Badari region near Asyut. It was named the Badarian and it represents the oldest known agricultural tradition in the Nile Valley of Upper Egypt. However, much remains to be learned about the Badarian as well as subsequent Predynastic developments in the region which may be expected to throw light on the adoption of agriculture in the Nile Valley and the rise of the Egyptian state. Consequently, new field investigations were initiated in 1989. A large part of the area was field surveyed and test excavations were carried out at the site of Hemamieh, originally excavated by Gertrude Caton-Thompson in the 1920s and famous for its stratified sequence of Predynastic levels.

During the 1989 season, the authors visited 42 sites, the majority of which have Predynastic remains. Most of the Predynastic occurrences date to the Badarian or Gerzean phases. Very little material was seen that could be assigned to the intervening Amratian phase, raising the possibility that elements of the Badarian culture remained prevalent in the Badari region at a time when only the Amratian was represented elsewhere in Upper Egypt. Our test excavations at Hemamieh revealed a stratigraphy similar to that described by Caton-Thompson with cultural deposits sandwiched between a surface scree layer and a cemented Limestone gravel deposit or ‘breccia’. The pottery recovered shows a continuous sequence beginning with the Badarian and ending with the Gerzean. Four radiocarbon dates were also obtained. Two of these are on samples from levels with Badarian ceramics and provide calibrated age estimates spanning c. 4400–4000 BC.

The purpose of these analyses is to assist in determining possible configurations of the original earthworks at Coed-y-dinas ring-ditch 1. This report contains a discussion of what art considered to be relevant geotechnical issues with some conclusions as to the range of configurations which might have existed. A summary of some of the calculations which have been carried out are given below.

Excavations between November 1990 and February 1992 have produced important information on the date and development of the Sarn-y-bryn-caled cursus complex between 3000–2000 BC. In particular a timber circle of 2000 BC, two penannular ring-ditches and a section across the cursus monument were excavated. A radiocarbon sequence has been obtained. The results of the excavations are described in Part I. Part II comprises a discussion of the forms, dates, functions, and reconstruction of timber circles. A corpus of and chronology for timber circles is presented.

A new set of radiocarbon measurements for the three phases of Bronze Age enclosure at Rams Hill allows refinement of their chronology. Phase 1 is radiocarbon dated for the first time and appears, contrary to previous indications, not to be very much earlier than phases 2 and 3. The dates are on carefully selected bone samples and give a rather later timespan overall than an earlier set of dates on charcoal, within the 13th–10th centuries cal BC. This span bridges the formal Middle–Late Bronze Age transition, overlapping the use ofPenard and Wilburton metalwork. The opportunity is taken to clarify some confused aspects of Bronze Age periodization.

The development of Bronze Age enclosure in Britain is reviewed. A former suggestion that Rams Hill is representative of a class of Middle Bronze Age high-status enclosure is re-examined. Current evidence does not support the idea of a coherent set of sites either functionally or chronologically. It is considered likely that Rams Hill represents an emergent state of larger-scale enclosure, perhaps after the regular embanking of small domestic sites. However, the precise role of Rams Hill in the regional economy remains enigmatic.

The discovery of evidence to suggest that copper ore was exploited at the Great Orme on a considerable scale in prehistory is of great significance in our understanding of the development of metalworking technology in the British Isles.

In the past, the apparent absence from the archaeological record of a contemporaneous native mineral source for the production of copper and copper alloy artefacts during the Bronze Age has led to the assumption that raw materials, as well as metal technology, were imported from abroad. Alternatively, whilst accepting that local resources could have been exploited, it was assumed that these would have been obliterated by the mining operations of later centuries.

There are now several sites on the British mainland and in Ireland which have been identified and dated as having been exploited for copper ores during the Bronze Age, of which a number, as on the Great Orme, had since seen intensive working during the 18th and 19th centuries AD. AS yet, much of the evidence has come essentially from surface excavations, but at the Great Orme surface excavation combined with underground exploration has revealed a system of workings of truly remarkable size. A series of 10 radiocarbon dates has been obtained from within the mine complex, indicating that working was carried out for over a thousand years spanning the Early to Late Bronze Age.

The true extent of the surviving prehistoric workings is yet to be realized but present evidence indicates mining activity covering an area in excess of 24,000 square metres, incorporating passages totalling upwards of 5 km, penetrating to a vertical depth of 70 m.

Much of the archaeological evidence contained within this report has been gained from detailed excavation carried out within surface workings, which in their own right constitute a sizeable part of the prehistoric mine. From the surface area presently exposed it is conservatively estimated that 40,000 cubic metres of material was removed during the Bronze Age. Much of the early technology represented within the surface workings reflects the technology employed in the deep workings, with the additional evidence of ancillary operations which would seem to relate solely to surface locations.

Whilst the excavations reported in this paper relate to surface, or near surface, workings, they must be seen in the context of a labyrinthine complex of prehistoric workings recorded at depths of over yom (Jenkins & Lewis 1991; Lewis 1994). These deep workings are the subject of parallel studies to be reported elsewhere. The known underground and surface prehistoric workings are on a scale so far unparallelled in Britain and are of international significance. Elsewhere in Europe there is evidence for the mining of copper ores at Ai Bunar in Bulgaria dated to 5840 BC (Cernych 1978) and at Rudna Glava in former Yugoslavia dated to 4715 BC (Jovanovic 1979). Evidence for subsequent copper mining has been dated to 3785 BC in southern Spain (Rio Tinto area: Rothenburg & Blanco Freijeiro 1980) and to 3330 BC in Austria (Mitterberg; Pittioni 1951), marking an apparent development and extension westwards and northwards of copper technology. More recently, the dating of two sites in the south of France to around 3330 BC, at Cabrieres (Ambert et al. 1990) and Bouche Payrol, near Brusque (Barge 1985), has confirmed another area of Bronze Age working.