ABSTRACT
From c. 1200 BC onwards there was a major increase in the scale of contacts along the Atlantic seaboard, archaeologically visible through the widespread deposition of related bronze metalwork forms. Prior to this time long-distance contacts between Atlantic communities were symbolic, involved relatively small amounts of material, and were presumably negotiated at an elite gift exchange level. By the Late Bronze Age, and especially from 900 BC, this contact appears to have intensified to something approaching a mercantile trade level. Accompanying the exchange in metalwork we can detect important changes in the activities and concerns of Atlantic communities which laid the foundations for the development of the Iron Age societies and ways of life discussed later in the book.
