This is an account of the Neolithic period in Scotland from its earliest traces around 4000 BC to the transformation of Neolithic society in the Early Bronze Age fifteen hundred years later.

Gordon Noble's analysis follows the Neolithic period in Scotland from around 4000 BC to the transformation of Neolithic society in the Early Bronze Age fifteen hundred years later. Synthesizing research from the past century, Noble suggests new directions for the interpretation of this elusive period.