From regional identities to assemblages of difference: rethinking the communities of Late Neolithic Britain

In Late Neolithic Britain (c.3200-2400 BC), there was difference throughout the archipelago from the Northern Isles to the south coast. Nevertheless, recent academic and popular narratives of this period portray it as a time when a pan-British identity emerged based on unprecedented interconnectivity and wide-spread similarities in material culture, architecture, and practices. In this thesis, I challenge this narrative however I do not argue in favour of current approaches to Neolithic regionality as its understanding of difference is predicated on the concept being a measure of lack. Difference-as-lack sees regions, humans, and things defined by what they are not and it has been a persistent feature of Late Neolithic archaeology for many decades. Consequently, I contend we need a different understanding of difference. To get this, I employ a posthumanist and new materialist theoretical framework inspired by philosopher Gilles Deleuze (1994) and his concept of difference as a primary, creative force that brings new things into the world. With three case study regions of the Isle of Man, Orkney, and Yorkshire, I use this theoretical framework to explore the difference-in-itself of particular sites, practices, and material culture found within these regions. As well as using this framework to find solutions to problems present in past approaches to the period, I demonstrate the new kinds of stories and questions that can emerge when we change our understanding of difference.