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Beyond Elites: Reassessing I rish I ron A ge Society
Author(s) -
Dolan Brian
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
oxford journal of archaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1468-0092
pISSN - 0262-5253
DOI - 10.1111/ojoa.12042
Subject(s) - prehistory , ephemeral key , archaeology , history , human settlement , computer science , algorithm
Summary The past two decades have seen an expansion of archaeological activity on the island of I reland that has transformed our knowledge and understanding of most periods in I rish prehistory and history. However, I ron A ge sites and artefacts remain rare finds and are often ephemeral, particularly in the case of settlements. It is now clear that the peculiarly sparse record of the I rish I ron A ge is genuinely representative of the surviving archaeology. It is also clear that this evidence does not fit the traditional ‘ C eltic’ picture of warrior elites, druids and tribal hierarchies imported from other regions and later insular texts. This paper proposes an alternative model for the I rish I ron A ge of the first millennium BC , one that centres on nomadism and heterarchy.