Abstract

Since its formation as a discipline, archaeology has written grand narratives of movement which has often focused upon how the Neolithic arrived at the British and Irish Isles (see Childe 1940; Piggott 1954; Thomas 2013; Sheridan 2010). However, once established, early Neolithic communities are often viewed as being static with little changing until the late Neolithic. Yet early Neolithic communities frequently moved and in western Scotland and Cumbria, this movement was not just through land, but communities possessed a maritime spirit which saw expert sailors navigate hazardous waters in vessels of wood and hide (Garrow & Sturt 2011; Robinson 2013). These vessels carried crews and passengers as well as cargos of animals and material culture to monuments, specific fixed points within the landscape which brought short-distance communities together which not only involved the living, but also the dead (Whittle et al. 2011). Furthermore, through webs of networks within the British and Irish isles, infrequent long-distance contacts are shown through polished stone axes (Bradley & Edmonds 1993). Additionally, each step of movement, each interaction with human and animal, whether living or dead and each decision made during the construction of material culture builds an identity (Leary & Kador 2016). Although movement, contact and identity can rarely be seen in the archaeological record, it is important to remember that every piece of material culture tells a story of movement, contact and identity in the established Neolithic of western Scotland and Cumbria and its place within the wider context of Britain and Ireland.