Beakers in Britain. The Beaker package reviewed

Abstract

From round-headed warrior invaders to introducers of a cult package, accounts of the appearance of Beakers in Britain have varied considerably. The basis of Burgess & Shennan’s ‘Beaker Package Hypothesis’ was that, other than the distinctive burial and associated artefacts, Beaker users had little impact on the other aspects of the contemporary archaeological record. But is this the case? With an improved radiocarbon-based chronology, new excavations and discoveries since 1976, and the reinterpretation of older data that these discoveries allow, we can instead see some fundamental changes coinciding with the arrival of Beakers. This is particularly the case in the domestic sphere, but other changes in ritual monument and artefacts can also be identified. In addition, we can document the demise of Later Neolithic Grooved Ware-using societies and the emergence of a new Early Bronze Age but with its roots very firmly in the Middle, not Late, Neolithic.