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CianMcLiam

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Re: 'MUST READ' article on the Ness of Brodgar

Jan 16, 2017, 23:19

tiompan wrote:

CianMcLiam wrote:

tiompan wrote:

But Jericho was originally a settlement not a chambered cairn as it is expected at the Ness . The nearby contemporaneous settlements didn't have surrounding walls eg Barnhouse and Skara Brae .
The walls of structure 10 inside the complex are probably the biggest ,more a case of conspicuous construction .
We know from the evidence of chambered tombs that the inhabitants were not about peace love and cuddliness , probably far from it but the "other guy " was probably your neighbour , not from the mainland of Europe or Scotland . That evidence suggests interpersonal violence not warfare ,DNA/isotope analysis might clarify that .The island(s) had a really useful defence in the surrounding seas , anyone attempting to attack them would need a fair few boats to carry the warriors across the Pentland Firth etc before even starting any attack . If thre was to be an attack and you wanted to build defences would you choose a low lying situation as at the Ness ?

Yeah it will be interesting to see what kind of monument stood there originally, nevertheless a narrow strip of land with a natural moat on each side is a pretty good site to defend. I'd be inclined to think of raiding rather than all out war.

I find the historical aspect of monuments intriguing e.g. Stonehenge .

I think they are hopeful that the earliest monument was funereal , at the Ness.

War as was uncommon in the period and there is no evidence of it that I know of in Orkney . It appears that interpersonal violence was common for the period and here too , but you don't need big walls to put a stop to that or raiding which was more suited to mainland areas where you get in and out easily and quickly , not easily achieved on Orkney . The earliest defensive structures on Orkney look to be have been promontory forts and brochs ,both much later than the Ness .

I think there's something going on on islands in the Neolithic that seems to ramp up the evolution of the society. Just look at the highly formal temple culture and art of Malta, there's nothing else quite like it during the same period. Just like in Polynesia, in some groups like the Society Islands and Hawaii it was the small, more marginal islands that rose to dominate other areas that had more open space for communities to expand. What they lacked in sheer numbers they made up for in mobilisation and sophisticated organisation with their denser populations.

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Re: 'MUST READ' article on the Ness of Brodgar (tiompan)

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'MUST READ' article on the Ness of Brodgar – spencer, Jan 13, 2017, 10:51


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