article_snippet: (pictured) was an ornate grave or a ceremonial hilltop to get closer to the gods .
article_snippet: We now know through recent excavations that this mound was built in stages, starting small, then getting taller. '
article_snippet: New importance was placed on religion, and ritual  (Neolithic religious monument pictured)
article_snippet: To make room for the new farmland, deforestation took place which permanently transformed the landscape.
article_snippet: New types of stone tools requiring more skill began to be produced too.
article_snippet: The Neolithic also saw the construction of a wide variety of monuments in the landscape, many of which were enormous.
article_snippet: The earliest of the construction of a wide variety of monuments in the landscape, many of which were enormous are the chambered tombs of the Early Neolithic but later stone circles were built, a trend that continued into the  Bronze Age.
article_snippet: These constructions reflect a shift in culture - a new importance that was placed on religion, ritual and social hierarchy.