The Neolithic Period

By Lauren C, Shauna B, Savannah, Nicole C, Danielle, Cara and Katie G.

The Neolithic people started to build more permanent places to live. The skills of farming spread very slowly from the Middle East across to Europe. The first farmers who came to Ireland properly came from Britain. They used boats or rafts to transport their seeds and animal across the Irish sea.

Who are the Neolithic people?

The Neolithic people were the New Stone Age people. Before 4000 BC the country was covered in forests. Only wild plants grew and animals were found in the wild and were hunted.  After 4000 BC trees were cut down to make way for grasslands and pasture, crops were planted by the people and the people began to raise animals.

Farming began in Mesopotamia  (modern day Iraq/ Iran) around 8000 BC. some  people started to collect and sow seeds and to tame wild animals. Farming provided them with a regular supply of food. Since crops and animals needed to be cared for, people became more settled.

Clothes:

With farming coming to Ireland you were now able to get and use a lot of new materials (e.g) leather came from cows.  People also discovered how to weave during this period.

Pottery:

Neolithic farmers discovered how to make pottery from clay. Neolithic farmers were the 1st people to do this. Clay pots were used for storing food or cooking. Archaeologists found grains of wheat in the pottery found. Because of this they know that they grew crops.

Tools and Weapons:

Neolithic people had better tools and weapons than Mesolithic people. Neolithic people didn't just use flint, they also used porcellanite, which is a lot heavier and stronger than flint. Porcellanite was great for axe-heads. They also used animal bones to make handles for the axes.

Types of Neolithic Settlement:

Court cairns

A court cairns can also be called court tombs. They get their name form court because courts open up into a big area which the court cairn does. The word cairn means a mound of stones. Bowls containing (burnt) human remains have been found in some chambers objects such as stone axes and pottery these are quite amazing tombs. 

Dolmens

Dolmens look like huge stone tables. There are two stones with a very large stone on top called a capstone. Some capstones weigh over 100 tonnes. The Proleek dolmen in Donegal is thought to be 3’500 years old.

Lough Gur:

Lough Gur is in Co.Limerick .Excavations in Limerick give us an idea of how the first Irish farmers lived. The houses were made from wood and were either rectangular or round in shape. They had one room inside and a big hearth in the centre for a big, open fire. These houses must have been very dark and smoky. The walls were made from planks of wood and branches weaved together. There was also mud plastered on the walls to fill in any gaps. This method of house building was called Wattle and Daub. The Neolithic people either slept on wooden benches or straw.