The National Museum of Ireland-Archaeology opened in 1890 and currently features displays of ancient Ireland from 7000 BCE. In Europe, prehistory (the period before written records) is generally denoted with the Three Age System: Stone Age (which is divided into Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic), Bronze Age, and Iron Age. This essay will look at some of the displays regarding the Mesolithic and Neolithic time periods.
Mesolithic:
The earliest period of archaeologically documented human habitation in Ireland comes during the Mesolithic, a time which begins with the withdrawal of the ice sheets. Most archaeologists feel that Ireland’s Mesolithic settlers came to the island from Britain, probably from what is now Scotland. There was probably some migration from Wales and southwest England as well. Finds of Mesolithic tools (although not settlements) suggests that these hunters spread south down the east coast of Ireland and inland along rivers to the Shannon basin.
During the Mesolithic (which some archaeologists date from 7000 to 3700 BCE and others date from 8000 BCE to 4000 BCE), the people were exploiting the natural resources of woodland, lake, river and sea by hunting animals and gathering food plants. These early hunters concentrated their activities on waterways, foraging on the shores of the sea, lakes and rivers. They rarely ventured into the forested interior, so Ireland's young ecosystem was almost totally unaffected by these early residents.
Tools during this time were made out of flint and chert. Some of the earliest evidence of the Mesolithic settlers in Ireland comes from county Antrim which is Ireland’s only source of flint. At a site known as The Curren (near Larne in County Antrim) archaeologists have found thousands of flint tools.
They hunted animals and birds using arrows tipped with sharpened pieces of flint. They also used spears which, although they could not be thrown as far as an arrow, were heavier. Most likely spears were used for close range thrusting. Among the animals that the Mesolithic hunters harvested were deer, duck and wild boar. These food sources would have been most important in the autumn.
The meat would have been carried back to their campsite where it would have been cooked over an out-door fire and eaten communally. The skins would have been removed to make clothes and to repair or add to the houses.
Mesolithic people also gathered hazelnuts, fruits and berries in the spring, summer and autumn. This added variety and nutrients to their meat-rich diet. There were few food sources available during the winter and this must have been a time of nutritional scarcity. The hunters killed wild boar in the winter.
Flint weapons, a diet rich in meat, a nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyle, and skin-covered huts characterize Mesolithic life.
There were not enough people in Ireland during the Mesolithic for there to be competition for land and there is no evidence of weapons being used against other humans.
The fish traps shown above were found in 2006 at the edge of a raised bog in County Meath. The traps have a distinctive V-shape. Slender rods and twisted wefts of alder, birch, and rosewood were woven together using an open-twined technique. Traps like these were positioned on the bed of a small lake adjacent to a mooring or walkway.
Mesolithic people also used flint-barbed harpoons to spear water animals, such as salmon and eels. They may have used skin boats, perhaps similar to the curragh, and dugout canoes to fish off shore, in lakes and in the sea. Fish formed the biggest part of the Mesolithic diet in the summer, while eels were caught more in the Autumn.
Shown above is an artist’s conception of a Mesolithic house. At Mount Sandel, County Derry, archaeologists have found evidence of circular huts which were constructed about 7000 BCE. These huts had been constructed by placing the butt-end of a sapling in a hole and bending it over to meet the upper end of an opposing sapling. This structure was then covered with skins. Before building the structure, the sod had been stripped away and then a wall of sod, perhaps a meter high, was built around part of the circumference.
While Mesolithic people were hunters and gatherers who lived a nomadic lifestyle, at Mount Sandel the site was occupied year-round. Archaeologists estimate that it had a population of about 15 people.
The final part of the Mesolithic era is marked by a decline in the population, or at least a decline in the relics that we have found. The climate got wetter at this time and many of the lakes in western Ireland began to turn into the bogs that we know today. This may have caused a decline in the population because the land could not support it.
Neolithic:
The Neolithic Period in Ireland generally dates from 3700 to 2500 BCE (4000 to 2500 BCE according to some archaeologists). This is a period in which the earlier hunting and gathering lifestyle was replaced by farming and herding. Two main cereal crops were raised: wheat and barley. There were three kinds of wheat: emmer (Triticum dicoccum), bread wheat (Triticum aestivum), and einkorn (Triticum monococcum).
Neither the animals (cattle, sheep, and goats) nor the cereals upon which farming was based were native to Ireland. This means that the cattle, sheep, and goats which were so important to the economics of this era had to be originally transported to the island by boat—by either the skin-covered curraghs or by dug-out canoes.
One of the other domestic animals that appeared in Ireland at this time was the cat.
Farming had a lasting impact on the environment as it involved the clearing of the land for cultivation and the establishment of permanent settlements. Clearing the forests for the fields required the use of stone axes which were superior to those used by the earlier Mesolithic people. The Neolithic stone axes were usually made from igneous rock, which is harder and more enduring than the materials used in the Mesolithic.
The areas dedicated to the growing of grain were enclosed by stone walls or simple wooden fences.
With farming and a more settled life, the Neolithic people also began making pottery. The early Neolithic pottery was made by hand rather than with a wheel. The potter would begin by making a coil of clay. This coil would then be wrapped round and round to build up the shape of the pot. Finally, it was smoothed down to give it a smooth appearance and then fired to harden it.
The pots were used for many things, including storing food, serving food, and as lamps.
An artist’s concept of a Neolithic farm house is shown above. During the Neolithic, houses became larger and better built. Many of the Neolithic houses were rectangular and made using tree trunks. The roof was usually made from timber beams with a reed thatch covering. The houses usually had a hearth which was used for cooking: unlike the earlier Mesolithic people, Neolithic people cooked food indoors.
The Neolithic people organized work parties to construct megalithic monuments—that is, large stone structures which were used as tombs and for ceremonial purposes. Examples of these structures include Dowth, Knowth, and Newgrange.