The construction of monuments was a practice common to many early societies worldwide, and their archaeology offers key insights into social, political and economic organisation. They are a conspicuous feature of state societies, where they served to express the power and prestige of state institutions, elites and rulers. As Canadian archaeologist Bruce Trigger observed “Monumental architecture and personal luxury goods become symbols of power because they are seen as embodiments of large amounts of human energy and hence symbolize the ability of those for whom they were made to control such energy to an unusual degree.” In this view, centralized power and monumentality are often correlated.
In many prehistoric societies, however, monumentality emerges in social contexts that lack clear evidence of centralization or social hierarchy. These monuments are often smaller in scale than those of state societies, but they may nonetheless achieve substantial dimensions and represent a significant investment of labour. Burial mounds, for example, are a feature of every inhabited continent, and have existed for several thousand years. Their origin can arguably be traced back to the Palaeolithic. The manipulation and display of large stone blocks is another widespread feature of small-scale farming and some hunter-gatherer societies.
The large numbers of prehistoric monuments in western and northern Europe dating to the Neolithic period (broadly 6000-2500 BC) provide an opportunity to consider the social significance of early monuments in a pre-state context. Three specific features will be explored
First, the emergence of monuments (chambered tombs, long mounds, standing stones) in these regions, and the issues of interregional connections. Do they have a common origin within Europe, and what does a global perspective suggest about monument origins in other places?
Second, the relationship to burial and commemoration. Who was buried in these tombs or commemorated by these stones, and can we infer the nature of social organisation from the often complex and variable burial practices? In only a few instances is there evidence consistent with the existence of social hierarchy.
Third, the construction process. Detailed study of the architecture of these monuments has led to very different interpretations, with some archaeologists proposing they were the product of small-scale endeavours by localised communities, and others pointing to evidence for specialist technical knowledge and (for very large monuments) some degree of coordinated control.
The issues will be illustrated by examples taken from over twenty years’ field experience in western France, western Iberia and the British Channel Islands.

在世界范围内，早期社会通常都有着建造纪念性建筑的行为，这些考古遗存为我们了解社会、政治和经济组织提供了关键的信息。纪念性建筑是一个国家的显著标志，它们表达着国家的权力与威望，以及精英阶层与统治者。正如加拿大考古学家布鲁斯·崔格尔所观察的那样“由于纪念性建筑和个人奢侈品包含了大量的劳动成本，因此它们成为了权力的象征，同时也象征有着这种不同寻常能量控制的能力。”在这样的观点下，集权与纪念性建筑紧密相连。
然而在很多史前社会之中，纪念性建筑出现在没有明显集权或社会分层的社会中。这些纪念性建筑的规模往往比国家社会的要小，但是它们仍旧可以达到很大的尺寸并代表大量劳动力的投入。如墓冢，便是居住于大陆上的特征，并已存在了千年。它们的起源可以追溯到旧石器时代。大型石块的堆砌是小规模农业和一些狩猎采集社会的另一主要特征。
在西欧和北欧，大量的史前纪念性建筑可以追溯到旧石器时代（约公元前6000-公元前2500年），这为我们考量前国家时代中纪念性建筑的社会意义提供了契机。
讲座将通过二十年来法国西部、伊比利亚西部哥、不列颠海峡群岛的田野工作，主要探索以下三方面的内容：
首先，纪念性建筑（墓葬、长丘、立石）的出现和区域间联系的问题。在欧洲内部它们是否有着共同的起源？从全球视野的角度下，其他地区纪念性建筑的起源意味着什么？
其次，埋葬与纪念之间的联系。什么人被埋葬于这些墓之中并使用石头来纪念？从复杂和多变的埋葬活动中，我们能否推断出社会组织的本质？在仅有的几个实例中，存在着与社会层级相一致的证据。
最后，建造的过程。对于这些纪念性建筑的深入研究引发了很多不同的解释。一些考古学家认为它们是一些地区社群中小范围的特殊产物，另一些考古学家则指出部分证据表明这是专业化技术知识促成的，并且对于大型纪念性建筑而言，它们体现了一定程度的协调控制。

Chris Scarre is Professor of Archaeology at Durham University. He is a specialist in European prehistory, but has broad interests in the archaeology of other regions of the world. He has directed and co-directed excavations at prehistoric sites in France, Portugal and the Channel Islands, and is the author of Landscapes of Neolithic Brittany, The Megalithic Monuments of Britain and Ireland and Ancient Civilizations (with Brian Fagan). He was editor of the Cambridge Archaeological Journal and Deputy Director of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge before moving to Durham University in January 2006 as Professor of Archaeology. He has a broad interest in human cultural and cognitive evolution and is the editor of the leading textbook of world prehistory, The Human Past (4th ed. forthcoming 2018). He is also currently editor of the leading UK archaeology journal Antiquity.

现任英国杜伦大学考古学教授，主要研究领域是欧洲史前史，同时涉及世界其他地区的考古学研究。主持并合作领导了法国、葡萄牙和英吉利海峡群岛的多个史前遗址的发掘工作。主要著作有：《新石器时代布列塔尼地区（法国）的景观考古》《英格兰和爱尔兰的巨石遗存》和《古代文明》（与布莱恩·费根合著）。在2006年进入杜伦大学担任考古学教授之前，克里斯·史卡瑞曾担任《剑桥大学考古学期刊》主编、剑桥大学麦克唐纳考古研究所副主任。他对于人类文化和认知进化领域的研究涉猎广泛，同时担任世界知名考古学教材《人类的过去》一书的主编。克里斯·史卡瑞目前也是英国知名考古学研究杂志《古物》的主编。