Facing the Ocean: The Atlantic and Its Peoples 8000 BC-AD 1500

by Barry W. Cunliffe and Barry Cunliffe

Book Overview

The Bretons are not French, the Celts are not English, and the Galicians are not Spanish, writes Barry Cunliffe. These maritime communities have long looked north and south along the coast, not inland, to claim a common bond. Even today, the Bretons see themselves as distinct from the French, but refer to the Irish, Welsh, and Galicians as their brothers and cousins.
In Facing the Ocean, Barry Cunliffe, one of the world's most highly regarded...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0192853554
• ISBN13: 9780192853554
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 600 Pages
• Weight: 3.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.4" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

Outstanding work and fun book to read!

I have to say this is one of my most treasured books next to my Tolkien collection. Sir Barry Cunliffe (just recently knighted and much deserved I might say) did a such a splendid job in keeping the main text clean of references and footnotes. For such a vast amount of material in the book, it's worth its weight in gold. References are there for those seriously researching the information, but his book truly shows you can read what is usually dry material and have references too. I would really love to see a book on ethnogenetics by him specifically focusing on the Atlantic Fringe. A. Yeomans

Coastal community

There are historians who still contend the history of the Atlantic began in 1492 with Columbus' crossing. Barry Cunliffe gently unravels such "Christo-centrism" with a sweeping history of the Atlantic littoral peoples and their activities. Using a wealth of archaeological and geological evidence, he traces cultural and likely trade patterns to build a picture of dynamic societies. Unlike the accounts of conquisidor Spain or a globally imperial Britain, Cunliffe focuses on community life, active commerce and cultural exchange. With a descriptive challenge covering nearly ten millenia, florid prose would be an unnecessary luxury. The reading is anything but dry, however. Cunliffe doesn't delve into much ambitious speculation, but he's careful to apply "highly debateable" to issues not clearly resolveable. He combines evidence and logic in building his few speculations. The resulting picture is informed and informative. Cunliffe begins with the physical structure and changes the Atlantic area underwent after the glacial retreat. As the ice melted, of course, the seas rose. The lost weight of the ice allowed the landforms to "rebound", a process still underway. The result is a lack of uniformity in sea level change and coastal forms. Rivers that once were self-cleansing slowed and silted estuaries and harbours as the land elevated. He provides several maps indicating old and new shorelines to depict the various shifting of shorelines and port locations. These maps and those showing grave sites, settlements, mines and artefact types enhance the worth of this book beyond cavil.Throughout this account, the Morbihan coast and the Armorican residents remain the pivotal area of activity. Innovations may arise and flourish in various places, but if these failed to pass through what is now Brittany, dissemination was unlikely. The Gironde, Loire and Garonne rivers became the primary trade routes inland, but a lively trade must have flourished along the Bay of Biscay and Atlantic shores to the British Isles using short-hop local carriers. Cunliffe's analysis is chiefly supported by grave and community artefacts of pottery, weaponry and jewelly. While origin points for styles of these items is difficult to locate, their spread over time is more easily traced. What is notably significant is the obvious two-way movement of goods - tin and gold coming into western Europe in exchange for fine pottery and metal goods sent in return. The Armoricans were bypassed by nearly all the waves of invasion, keeping a traditional culture nearly intact until the Carolingian era. "Brittany" resulted from the waves of Irish and western England emigrants settling there in flight from Norman incursions in the British Isles. Faults with this book are nearly non-existent. His bibliography, while extensive, might have been more detailed. Ten millenia, even in a restricted geographical area, is ambitious coverage and listing even the better sources would lik

Comprensive Archaeology with a New Perspective

Barry Cunliffe ties together a comprehensive and detailed chronological description of the archaeological record for the Atlantic coastal areas of present day Spain, Portugal, France, England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland with a superb discussion of geography to provide a 9,500 year historical overview of these areas as an integrated cultural milieu whose evolution had more in common with each other than with inland areas or the rest of Europe. The book is beautifully displayed with numerous and extraordinary photos, maps and illustrations that greatly aid in understanding the textual discussion. But well beyond just describing archaeological material, the author places this material in its geographical and historical context and then explains what this spatial and chronological record has to say, or may have to say, concerning the evolution of the regions' material and social cultures. Along the way, he weaves together a fascinating historical narrative and ties this to the archaeological record. The book is beautiful to look at, well written, professionally comprehensive, and with a unique perspective on historical development. Yes, there are some editing errors and arguably some factual errors but to my knowledge they are few, insignificant and in no way detract from the quality of this book. My personal opinion is that the greatest strength of the book lies in its treatment of geography as a unifying, connecting or separating force as revealed in the archaeological record and this alone strongly recommends its reading. If you wish, read it for its historical overview of trade, migration, development and warfare, its up to date and comprehensive discussion of the archaeological record, or simply to discover more places to visit (I have) from studying the maps and photos.

A well-produced book

This exceptionally well-illustrated book describes the history and activities of the peoples who lived along Europe's western seaboard between 8,000 B.C. and 1,500 A.D. The author, a professor of archaeology at Oxford, believes that the Atlantic Ocean profoundly influenced the psychology and culture of those who lived on its edge. In many cases, they interacted more with each other than with peoples living in the interior of the continent; the seas became a link rather than a barrier. Maps of trade routes and archaeological finds illustrate these connections. The photographs, many of them in color, are first class. This is a unique and intriguing way to look at Western European history.

One of the great books

In this monumental work, Barry Cunliffe (Professor of European Archaeology at Oxford) traces the history of those living along the Atlantic coast of Europe. Beginning in 8000 BC, he traces the material culture of peoples spread from Spain through the British Isles, and on to the southern coast of the North Sea. The histories of other peoples and lands are covered as they impact the peoples of the Atlantic coast. Maintaining that the covered people shared a common culture, he covers everything known about them in a methodic, and extremely in-depth manner.There are some books that are good, and some that are very good, and then there are books that just knock your socks off--this book is one of the latter. Professor Cunliffe covers the history of an extensive area with a depth of information that would seem to require a book at least five times the length. In fact, if I have one complaint against this book, it is that it contains so much information on topics that are not within the sphere of my interest. This means, that if you are interested in the history of these lands, from 8000 BC to AD 1500, then this book is for you!I must add that this book is wonderful in its production, including many maps and colorful pictures. In a way, this book has the feel of a textbook, but it is neither dry nor incomprehensibly academic. If you are interested in the possibility of advanced prehistoric civilizations, this book contains nothing in that direction. However, the depth of the analysis it does provide on archaeology makes it a wonderful resource for checking claims by other authors. This is a great book that you should consider buying.