This is a book about life and death over 8,500 years in Ireland. It explores the richness of the mortuary record that we have for Irish prehistory (8000 BC to AD 500) as a highlight of the archaeological record for that long period of time. Because we are dealing with how people coped with death, this rich and diverse record of mortuary practice is also relevant to understanding how we deal with death today, which is just as central a social issue as it always was.



1.tENGAGING WITH PREHISTORIC LIFE AND DEATH

2.tPEOPLING PREHISTORY

3.tCONNECTING WITH THE LANDSCAPE: DEATH IN THE MESOLITHIC

4.tMAKING MONUMENTS AND ENGAGING WITH THE DEAD

5. THE PLACE OF THE VISIBLE DEAD IN THE CHALCOLITHIC AND EARLY BRONZE AGE

6. TRACING LINES AND COURSES OF HISTORY, BURIAL PRACTICE IN LATER PREHISTORIC IRELAND

7. REFLECTING ON TRANSITIONAL WORLDS: SWITCHING ANCESTORS

8. POSTSCRIPT: THE LIVING AND THE DEAD

Notes List of illustrations and plates Index