Animal Remains from Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Funerary Contexts in Wiltshire, Dorset and Oxfordshire

This research reviews the occurrence of animal remains in Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age funerary contexts in three southern British counties: Wiltshire, Dorset, and Oxfordshire. Biases of survival and recovery are discussed before the data for species and body parts are analyzed. Explanations for the occurrence of animal remains are first offered in terms of chronology, monument architecture and the character of pre-existing deposits. It is then argued that animal remains (most notably deer antler) could be used to express notions of cyclical temporality and to evoke landscapes relevant to the living and the dead within the funerary context.