This volume is part of a two volume set: ISBN 9781407390192 (Volume I); ISBN 9781407390208 (Volume II); ISBN 9780860546207 (Volume set).

The Bronze Age, roughly 2500 to 750 BC, was the last fully prehistoric period in Europe and a crucial element in the formation of the Europe that emerged into history in the later first millennium BC. This book focuses on the material culture remains of the period, and through them provides an interpretation of the main trends in human development that occurred during this timespan. It pays particular attention to the discoveries and theoretical advances of the last twenty years that have necessitated a major revision of received opinions about many aspects of the Bronze Age. Arranged thematically, it reviews the evidence for a range of topics in cross-cultural fashion, defining which major characteristics of the period were universal and which culture and area-specific. The result is a comprehensive study that will be of value to specialists and students, while remaining accessible to the non-specialist.

This ambitious study documents the underlying features which link the civilizations of the Mediterranean - Phoenician, Greek, Etruscan and Roman - and the Iron Age cultures of central Europe, traditionally associated with the Celts. It deals with the social, economic and cultural interaction in the first millennium BC which culminated in the Roman Empire. The book has three principle themes: the spread of iron-working from its origins in Anatolia to its adoption over most of Europe; the development of a trading system throughout the Mediterrean world after the collapse of Mycenaean Greece and its spread into temperate Europe; and the rise of ever more complex societies, including states and cities, and eventually empires. Dr Collis takes a new look at such key concepts as population movement, diffusion, trade, social structure and spatial organization, with some challenging new views on the Celts in particular.