 Across Western Europe , the Early Neolithic marked the first period in which humans built monumental structures in the landscape . These were tombs that held the physical remains of the dead , and though sometimes constructed out of timber , many were built using large stones , now known as " megaliths " . Individuals were rarely buried alone in the Early Neolithic , instead being interned in collective burials with other members of their community . The construction of these collective burial monumental tombs , both wooden and megalithic , began in continental Europe before being adopted in Britain in the first half of the fourth millennium BCE . 
