Neolithic Ireland

Neolithic Ireland. The Neolithic period (New Stone Age) is often viewed as a mainly economic phenomenon, and is sometimes referred to as the ‘Neolithic Revolution’. It began in Ireland around 4500 bc, slowly displacing the Mesolithic, and ended with the transition to the Bronze Age at around 2500 bc. It is the combined traits of changes in food production, settlement forms, burial practices, and material culture that essentially define the Neolithic. It is now recognized that the Neolithic was not homogeneous throughout Europe, or even Ireland, and that regional variation occurred.

The mechanisms for the spread and establishment of farming are a point of some contention. Non‐native domesticated cereals (primitive forms of wheat and barley) and animals (cattle, pig, and sheep / goat) were imported into Ireland. This may have been done by new groups of people who arrived in boats from Britain, and maybe mainland Europe. Alternatively some of the indigenous Mesolithic hunter‐gatherers may have imported the concept and tools for an agricultural lifestyle. Most probably what occurred was a combination of both processes. In any case hunting and gathering remained important and provided supplementary foods.

Many new skills and crafts developed during this time. Polished stone axes increased in importance during the Neolithic period. They were required to clear the native forests for land to grow crops and to create pastures, and to build houses, fences, and trackways. There was intensive exploitation of specific stone sources, such as porcellanite at Tievebulliagh Mountain near Cushendall and at Brockley on Rathlin Island, Co. Antrim, for the large‐scale production of polished axes. Wood and stone points were placed in simple ards (ploughs) to break up the ground for planting; flint tools were used for harvesting crops, and stone saddle querns for grinding the grain. Flint remained an important stone for the production of tools and weapons, and fine flint leaf and lozenge‐shaped arrowheads were used for both hunting and warfare. Some objects such as flint javelin heads, mace heads, and large finely executed polished axes (similar to those in the Malone Hoard from Belfast), were probably symbols of power, wealth, and prestige, rather than utilitarian objects. Pottery makes its first appearance in Ireland during the Neolithic and production is believed to have occurred on a small, localized scale. The pots were handmade, coil‐built, and fired in bonfires or firing pits. The earliest pots were mainly undecorated round‐bottomed bowls, although decoration became more common in the later part of the period. Towards the end of the Neolithic a great diversity in pottery styles existed and flat‐based pottery was introduced.

The development of farming greatly impacted on both society and the landscape. Field divisions, probably once extensive, have been found in a number of places preserved under peat such as the expansive Céide field systems in north‐west Mayo. The forests provided wood for the construction of trackways that provided access across wetland areas to higher and drier land. Timber was also used in the construction of houses and circular (or oval) and plank‐built rectangular forms are known. An average sized house could have accommodated a family group of between five and ten individuals and the variation in house sizes may be linked not only to the numbers of occupants, but also to function and social status. At some sites, such as Ballygalley, Co. Antrim, more than one house is known and they may have been occupied contemporaneously. In general, however, the pattern appears to have been one of dispersed settlement linked to a sedentary existence.

Short‐term, specialized habitations are also known and some appear to be linked to specific activities such as exploiting marine resources, flint, and other stone sources. Enclosed settlements also existed, such as that at Lough Gur, Co. Limerick, where low banks retained by stone walls may have had some type of social significance. A small number of hilltop enclosures, including Donegore Hill and Lyles Hill, both in Co. Antrim, probably had a defensive role.

The most enduring monuments of the Neolithic are the megalithic tombs. Great earthen monuments known as henges were also constructed and at the Giant's Ring, Co. Down, an impressive henge, enclosing an earlier megalithic monument and a nearby timber‐post complex, suggest the area was used by large numbers of people, probably for ritual purposes. These monuments indicate status, a knowledge of engineering, and the ability to organize resources, including labour. Ritual practices can also be discerned at sites such as Goodland, Co. Antrim, where a small ditch and over 170 pits, filled with flints, pottery, charcoal, and stone cobbles were excavated. It has been suggested that this material was deliberately deposited in the pits for ritualistic purposes, possibly linked to fertility ceremonies.

Ireland was not isolated during the Neolithic and evidence suggests that communication networks existed between Ireland and Britain and mainland Europe. Irish‐made objects such as porcellanite axes have been found as far away as the Shetland Islands, south‐west England, and the Isle of Man. Equally, stone axes from Britain, a flint axe from Scandinavia, pitchstone from Scotland, and jadeite axes from the Alpine area of northern Europe have been found in Ireland.

Bibliography

Cooney, G., and and Grogan, E. , Irish Prehistory: A Social Perspective (1994)

Sinéad McCartan