Data from the living hunting and gathering peoples offer a corrective to this viewpoint. Several theorists have developed models of early human groups that placed males at the centre and females drawn in from outside through exchange networks. These models contradict the known facts about hunting and gathering peoples, among whom we find a social grouping consisting of both males and females at the centre. The burden of the hunter-gatherer evidence (along with that from primate field studies) favours a model of early human society in which females wielded considerable political power as a result of their economic independence and their ability to exercise discretion in their choice of spouse.” .
We can establish that the sorts of animals the Mesolithic people consumed ranged over mammals, birds and fish including, wild boar, hare, wolf/dog, wild cat, thrush, eagle, wigeon, teal, mallard, salmon, trout, eel, seabass and a variety of other species, based on the findings at Mount Sandel. (J.P. Mallory & T.E. McNeill The Archaeology of Ulster; From Colonization to Plantation. 1991 P.13). It is thought too that the women, while the males were out hunting the animals- collected berries and other wild shrubs to cook with the meal as part of their diet. Thus, Mesolithic eating habits would not have had a significant impact on the landscape of Ireland.
In contrast, Neolithic people are known as the first farmers in Ireland. It is wrong to think that Mesolithic people discovered farming and then became Neolithic people; rather Neolithic ways of life began to spread to Ireland from settlers across the sea and brought this new way of life with them. Neolithic folk were involved in cultivating the land they lived on and grew crops and vegetation as a food source, they still hunted and gathered in berries and nuts but now their diet was supplemented on a regular basis by the produce of their crops, and by the domesticated animals they kept such as pigs, sheep, cattle and hunting dogs. Evidence from Cashelkeelty, County Kerry, suggests that this happened between 3900BC and 3000BC . Findings around Neolithic sites, which have been excavated, have provided evidence of “a new technology” as described by J.P. Mallory & T.E. McNeill; they go on to say… “There was also a new technology that has been especially developed for this new agricultural economy. The first farmer colonists introduced their own variety of polished stone axes for clearing away forests, flint tools for harvesting their crops, grinding stones for processing the cereal, and pots made from clay to assist in cooking and serve as containers. Even the tools used for hunting changes as these early farmers brought their own type of flint arrowheads and javelins, and now that there was easy access to animals whose hides were particularly useful to man, we begin to find abundant evidence for flint scrapers.” (1991. P.30.)
Such dramatic changes to diet brought would have brought about significant changes to the physical landscape of Ireland; people were now starting to cut away areas of woodland so they could cultivate the land for farming and building their settlements. The effects of this are evident today, with the creation of blanket bogland throughout Ireland and particularly around areas where Neolithic artefacts are discovered. “Ireland has 12,000 km² of , consisting of two distinct types, blanket bogs and raised bogs. Blanket bogs are the more widespread of the two types. They are essentially a product of human activity aided by the moist Irish climate. Blanket bogs formed on sites where farmers cleared trees for farming. As the land so cleared fell into disuse, the soil began to leach and become more acidic, producing a suitable environment for the growth of and . The debris from these plants accumulated and a layer of formed.” .
The continuous falling debris has caused these bogs to grow and an example of the height to which they have grown is all too evident in the Ceide Fields, located in North County Mayo. Thus, most of Ireland’s upland peat bogs (although not the lower ones are actually features inadvertently created by Neolithic farmers).
In relation to housing Mesolithic people did not build permanent settlements, this was due to their way of life, being from a hunter-gatherer culture, these individuals tended to be nomadic, moving from season to season, going where the food was.
During the summer and early autumn months it is thought that these people settled beside coastal areas- were it was cooler and throughout the winter and spring they settled more inland, taking refuge and protection from the weather amongst the dense woodland. There is no absolute evidence for these assumptions however; tools from the Mesolithic era have been located around or close to coastal areas. “The Curran” (Near to present day Larne, County Antrim) is a raised beach where archaeologists have found thousands of flint tools, and in County Offaly, archaeologist’s uncovered evidence of a Mesolithic settlement at Lough Boora.
Neolithic peoples contributed to the changing of the landscape through the settlement dividing which are evident in the Ceide Fields of northern County Mayo. The Ceide Fields are a series of stone field boundaries discovered preserved under peat on the edge of a cliff in Mayo. At the time, they were made; the climate would have allowed them to grow crops there, although today it is a bog. It would be on this land, beside that which they cultivated that their dwellings would be built.
Neolithic settlers built more structured and permanent buildings for settlement than the Mesolithic. “A Neolithic house was rectangular and made either from tree trunks sunk vertically into the ground or from woven branches covered with mud. A large beam leaning against the ridge of the roof supported the gables at each end. The roof itself was made from timber beams with reed thatch covering it. A small hole in the roof allowed smoke to escape because, unlike the Mesolithic Irish, the Neolithic farmers lit their fires and cooked indoors. We know what these houses looked like because, although most of the wood itself has gone, the post-holes have survived and engineers can thus determine the house’s structure”. .
The tools used by Mesolithic and Neolithic people were highly significant for their survival. They played a key role as a means of obtaining food, whether it is for farming the land or hunting wild animals. Both Mesolithic and Neolithic people therefore had a great impact on the cultural landscape of Ireland in relation to their own excavation for stone.
One of the most important sites in this context therefore is Mount Sandel in County Londonderry/Derry. The evidence from Mount Sandel hut sites, which were excavated by Professor Peter Woodman, shows they were in use from around 7000 B.C. to 6650 BC, during the Mesolithic period. “Flint tools from the Mesolithic are often the best evidence of these early sites. Other tools, from wood and bone may well have been used, but flint is the one that survived the thousands of years in the ground. Early Mesolithic people used tools called microliths. These microliths -as their name implies - were tiny slivers of worked flint and are extraordinary in their sophistication. Many different types are identifiable and the use to which they were put has been determined. These include scalene triangles, rods, needlepoints, and micro-awls. These tiny flint blades were often used in composite tools with wooden handles, which have not survived. During the Later Mesolithic period, tool-making technology was less sophisticated than in the Early Mesolithic. Composite tools with tiny microliths were no longer the norm, but larger - some say 'cruder' - flakes of flint were in use. Because of the number of these tools found in Northern Ireland's Bann Valley, the tools themselves are referred to as Bann Flakes.” .
The stone used during the Neolithic period, is a special stone called porcellanite. A volcanic stone that can be located in two places in Ulster, firstly Brockley on Rathlin Island and also Tievebulliagh near Cushendall, Co. Antrim, at both sites hundreds of “roughouts” (uncompleted axes) have been found. Neolithic miners would break off the rock by building fires against the stone and then applying water to cause it to fracture and break off. They would break the clumps of porcellanite into suitable sizes and then begin flaking them into the general shape of an axe-, which would then be used for cultivating their land or hunting.
The most significant contribution to the cultural landscape however comes from the Neolithic people. These are one of the most important legacies left by the Neolithic farmers and are their Megaliths, or large earthen constructions, used primarily as burial places. Megaliths are not exclusive to Ireland as others have been found across Europe, yet with over 1500-recorded megalithic tombs still in existence in Ireland, it is an important aspect of Irish history. The later peoples of Ireland would wonder at these huge mysterious developments and repeatedly attribute them to giants, bringing about the increase of giants in Irish mythology.
It would be wrong to believe that the construction of these megaliths began at the start of the Neolithic period- but rather nearer to the end of the period when thoughts of mind and ways of live had developed and adapted to environmental surroundings and changes. For example, the first farmers were probably Mesolithic people that had been educated on how it is more efficient to grow crops instead of hunting food sources from settlers that had immigrated across the Irish Sea. They would then have to adapt to this new culture, not having time to construct some of the detailed and complicated designs of the megaliths. Megaliths are heavily concentrated in the north of Ireland and can be broken down into three clear types (Court Tombs, Portal Tombs and Passage Tombs), which may be evidence of primitive religious groupings.
Built mainly in upland areas, a Court tomb consisted of a segmented stone chamber covered by an earthen mound, with an entrance courtyard that invariably faces east. It is also possible that the word “tomb” is used wrongly to describe this building, as it could have possibly been used as a place of worship, examples of such tombs can be seen in Annaghmare, County Armagh, Sligo, Leitrim, Mayo and Antrim.
Portal Tombs consist of three or more vertical stones on top of which are perched one or two capstones. The capstones always lean down towards one side, leaving a large opening at the high end. Many of these tombs have collapsed over the 5000 years from when they were built however, they do remain one of the most recognizable forms of megaliths, and examples of these tombs are found best in Carlingford, County Leitrim.
And finally Passage tombs, the most impressive of all. These are the youngest of the tomb types, build by the later Neolithic peoples and tend to be architecturally more architecturally more adventurous than the others. “They consist of a roughly circular earthen mound under which is a central chamber and a passage leading into it. The passage is made from large vertical stones with flat stones laid across them and then covered in soil. The most famous and remarkable example is Newgrange, County Meath and perhaps the most intriguing feature of passage tombs is their art. Stones both inside and outside them are decorated with swirls, chevrons, eye-motifs etc which have over the years eroded away to leave mounds of nondescript rocks”. http://www.wesleyjohnston .com.users/ireland/past/pre_norman_history/neolithic_age.html
It is possible, that there was migrant human existence before the Mesolithic era, however there is no conclusive evidence to support this- it is important to acknowledge that there are places which have yet to be excavated, and could possibly date to earlier periods.
Both the Mesolithic and Neolithic Age left a great mark on Ireland. The forests had been cleared for farmland, and by the end of the age, they were starting to clear the lower forests. Sheep, cows and other domesticated animals had been imported to Ireland from mainland Britain for the first time. Megalithic tombs spread across the landscape, and by the time Bronze was introduced to Ireland around 2000BC, Neolithic culture was evident across the Island.
Resource List
Books
Mallory, J.P. & McNeill, T.E (1991) The Archaeology of Ulster, From Colonization to Plantation. W.G. Baird Ltd, Antrim
Mitchell, Frank & Ryan, Michael (1993) Reading the Irish Landscape. Compass Press Ltd, Malta
Websites
Video/DVD
RTE Archeology Programme (1980’s Video) The First Farmers; Seamus Caulfield