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Bones of dogs are found on most archaeological sites of holocene date in several continents. The presence of tooth marks on the bones of other species often suggests that a recovered assemblage has undergone scavenging by canids and may be taphonomically biased. An actualistic study monitored the destruction, weathering and burial of bones of modern sheep and deer that had died naturally and been scavenged by foxes. The assemblages recovered after three years are biased severely towards certain element types and have suffered the preferential loss of young bones or epiphyses. Subcollections within the sheep assemblage indicate that relative frequencies of elements are different in residual and carnivore transported assemblages. Comparisons with work by other researchers indicate that: (1) inherent factors influence element survival rates, and (2) the patterns of element frequencies in assemblages from carnivore-scavenged carcasses are consistent across a wide range of environmental settings. The results of the actualistic study were applied to some Romano-British material from a military site in northern Britain. Several of the ungulate bones show tooth marks and patterns of breakage that are very similar to those observed in the actualistic study. It is very likely, therefore, that this assemblage was scavenged by dogs (bones of which were also recovered). The relative frequencies of elements of the sheep-goat and cattle assemblages match those of the modern sheep assemblage, suggesting that whole carcasses of both species were deposited at the site. The paucity of certain element types can be explained by the activities of scavenging canids together with a bias against the recovery of smaller bones, and need not be the result of cultural practices such as trading. A new method is suggested for the demographic analysis of archaeological faunal assemblages that overcomes some of the biases caused by the preferential loss of unfused epiphyses.

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This thesis is concerned with the nature of ritual practice during the Late Neolithic - Early Bronze Age periods in Britain. It has been suggested that a change from community to individual emphasis can be detected in the archaeological record. In order to delineate this change, an analysis of the 'ritual deposition' of beaker pottery on causewayed enclosure and hcnge monuments was undertaken, as it was considered that these deposits would potentially provide the best structured (both spatially and temporally) information. Part 1 considers the typology, chronology, and spatial distribution of beaker pottery. It is concluded that beakers can be divided into three groups: early, middle and late. These are distinguished typologically, and have statistical significance in both relative and absolute chronology. Further, they arc spatially segregated, forming bands of early and later types, with the early types having a markedly coastal distribution. Other contemporary artefact types are discussed, and broad chronological horizons are proposed. Part 2 begins with a discussion of the nature of ditch deposits on henge monuments and causewayed enclosures, in which the possible effects of activities such as cleaning, rccutting and refilling are considered. Beaker deposits and their position within the site sequences are then evaluated. It is suggested that there arc two patterns of deliberate deposition common to both monument types: 'scattered' (incomplete vessels, often distributed across the site), and 'deliberate burial' (complete vessels, often in clusters). Both arc located in the middle - upper silts, frequently associated with ditch rccutting or other site modifications. Early beakers on southern sites may accompany the lithicisation of timber structures, while late beakers on northern sites arc linked with the creation of a 'burial' place, by the addition of cists or a cairn. Beaker burials in the barrow cemeteries around Stonehenge are briefly considered, and in the conclusion an overall sequence is proposed. This begins with 'scattered' deposits and early beakers, primarily on causewayed enclosures (in keeping with Neolithic site-use), followed by a mixture of 'scattered' and 'deliberate' deposits and middle beakers, on both site types, contemporary with the growth of the beaker burial, and finally 'deliberate' deposits of late beakers on hcnges, contemporary with burials of the Wesscx Culture (Bronze Age individual burial).

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Although Childe himself especially valued his contribution to archaeology as the originator of new interpretative concepts and methods of explanation, his explicitly theoretical work is not widely known today and indeed was largely ignored by his contemporaries. Here an attempt is made to redress the balance, not by depreciating Childs's role as a synthesiser, nor by overstating his explicit concern with theory, but rather by viewing both these aspects of his work as integral parts of an overall enquiry into prehistory. The thesis thus begins with an outline of the development of Childe's synthesis of European and Oriental prehistory in relationship to the development of his theoretical framework. This is followed by a more detailed analysis of the theoretical content of the synthesis itself. In tracing Childe's intellectual genesis and development from his entry into archaeology in the early twenties to his tragic death in 1957. One follows a remarkable journey through philological theory, Oriental diffusionism, functionalism, Darwinism and Marxism. The picture which emerges is one of an archaeologist grappling with complex and often contradictory theoretical systems, in an attempt not only to perceive the patterns in prehistory, but to understand the historical process itself.

This study aims to establish an understanding of the nature of settlement development in the Western Isles in the period from c.1000 BC - 800 AD. A new classification of the sites is formulated to deal with the specific Hebridean context and with the restrictions of the available evidence. This provides a framework for analysis and replaces previous schemes, imported from elsewhere in Scotland, which have tended to confuse the settlement patterns and the settlement development of the area. The large number of older excavations are reassessed in the light of both new approaches to classification and interpretation, and the evidence of recent survey and excavation. A coherent settlement sequence can be seen to emerge, showing a development of monumental architecture in the mid-1st millennium BC from a background of non-monumental domestic settlement: this monumentality persists for several centuries in the form of the atlantic roundhouses and wheelhouses before being gradually replaced by non-monumental, cellular and linear structures in the 1st millennium AD. Structural, locational and spatial analyses combine to demonstrate patterns of settlement development which show the progressive adaptation of Hebridean populations to the changing socio-economic context. The development of architecture is shown to be linked to contemporary social and economic processes. The environmental context of settlement development is shown to be of great significance in shaping broad trends of settlement development, while the specific responses of human groups indicate the importance of social factors. The final part of the study proposes possible models for the interpretation of settlement change. Material culture, including architecture, can be seen to be used actively in the negotiation of social relationships, both within the islands and between the islanders and the emerging states of Scotland in the 1st millennium AD.

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