It is in this Neolithic Age that the bodies of the dead were placed in a cist or stone box; that is, large stones were placed round the body, and on these upright stones was fixed a covering stone.
One such system of burial was found at Rothwell, near Caistor, and another at Dunholme.
In nearly every case of burial of this kind, which is called Inhumation, the body has been placed facing the sun in a contracted position; that is, with the knees drawn up to the chin and lying on its side. Some specialists think this position indicates the sleeping attitude, others think it points to the fact that as the child entered into life in a contracted position, so the dead body was similarly placed for departure from life, with the possibility of entering into a new life after death.
Frequently by the side of the dead body were placed the weapons that he used when living—axe-heads, arrow-heads, knives, and spear-heads.
Life of the Neolithic People
Naturally we may ask how did these people live? The answer undoubtedly is by hunting, fishing, and fowling. They appear to have had large flocks of sheep, goats, and cattle, and possessed dug-out canoes or boats.
Their dwelling places were probably hut circles, but no remains of these have so far been found in the county of Lincolnshire.
Their care of the dead would lead us to suppose that, by comparison with similar practices in other parts of the world, they believed in a future state or future life.
Who were the Neolithic people?
This question has been asked by many, and the answer given by Professor Boyd Dawkins[5] and others is that they were Iberians, and are represented at the present time by the surviving Basque peoples of the Western Pyrenees, on the borders of Spain and France.