Pits and Place-making: Neolithic Habitation and Deposition Practices in East Yorkshirec. 4000–2500 BC

Abstract

This article presents the findings of a study which sought to explore the nature of Neolithic habitation practices in east Yorkshire, primarily using evidence from pits. The morphology of pits and material deposited into them were examined in order to discern the kinds of activities taking place close by, and the possible motivation behind pits being dug. The temporality, spatial organisation, and landscape distribution of pits was considered in conjunction with information from domestic features, artefact spreads, and monumental and funerary features in order to create a coherent image of the ways in which people lived in and exploited the landscape.It is argued that, given the scarcity of direct evidence for residential contexts, the information from pits can tell us about occupation practices. Viewed in conjunction with evidence for changing subsistence practices and an increasingly monumentalised landscape from the Early Neolithic onwards, the deposition of domestic material in pits is interpreted as part of cycles of renewal that created more permanent connections between people and their homes.