Statements in Stone is the first detailed account of the megaliths, the great stone monuments of Western Europe. For centuries, the megaliths have excited the popular imagination and recent years have witnessed a surge of interest in megalithic studies, involving a shift away from traditional concerns with typology, chronology and "origins," towards an attempt to understand the social significance of megalithic monuments, as well as the cultural dimensions of monument construction and ritual.

In any consideration of European megaliths, Britanny must be seen as a core area of study, distinguished by its density and diversity of monuments. This book places various megalithic traditions into a social context, relating them to changing structures in social organization. These megaliths cover a period of over 2000 years, from the Neolithic period to the beginning of the Bronze Age. Mark Patton shows how recent excavations have further contributed to our understanding of megaliths: thediscovery of early complexes beneath passage graves for instance, have provided evidence for the multiphase construction of megalithic cairns and tombs.

Statements in Stone is based on the most recent and controversial theoretical perspectives in archaeology and will be of great interest to students of this discipline, as well as those in the field of anthropology.