The powers of rocks: Topography and monument construction on Bodmin Moor

This paper is an exploration of the relationship between topographic features of the landscape, agency and power in small‐scale societies. In it I argue that topographic features of the landscape constitute a series of symbolic resources of essential significance in the formation of personal biographies and the creation and reproduction of structures of power. I attempt to explore these ideas through a discussion of the prehistoric landscapes of Bodmin Moor from the Neolithic to the end of the Bronze Age.