Our Roots in Ancient Civilisation 1 Ancient Ireland

Our Roots in Ancient Civilisation 1: Ancient Ireland 4 The Neolithic Period (New Stone Age) WHAT YOU WILL LEARN At the end of this chapter you should understand. . . • How the arrival of farming changed Ireland. • The life and work of the first farmers and their burial customs. Chapter 4 | The Neolithic Period (New Stone Age)

How do we know about the first farmers in Ireland? Neolithic sites • Lough Gur, Co. Limerick • The Boyne Valley, Co. Meath • Céide Fields, Co. Mayo Archaeological excavations What can • pollen analysis and • carbon dating tell us about Neolithic farmers? Middle Stone Age (Mesolithic) Old Stone Age No evidence of people living in Ireland 8000 BC Chapter 4 | The Neolithic Period (New Stone Age) First people in Ireland New Stone Age (Neolithic) 4000 BC First farmers in Ireland

Houses and work How did Bronze age people live and work? Chapter 4 | The Neolithic Period (New Stone Age)

Houses What was wattle and daub? Chapter 4 | The Neolithic Period (New Stone Age)

Work Dairying and grain-growing What work did farmers do? Chapter 4 | The Neolithic Period (New Stone Age)

Food • Wheat, barley – bread, porridge • Pigs • Fishing, hunting, gathering How was the saddle stone used? Chapter 4 | The Neolithic Period (New Stone Age)

Tools and weapons Uses of tools and weapons Axes Cutting down trees, building houses and boats, fighting Bows and arrows, spears Hunting and fighting Wooden and stone ploughs Tilling the ground Mattocks and spades Tilling the ground Scrapers Cleaning skins Bone or antler needles Stitching From where did these axes come? Chapter 4 | The Neolithic Period (New Stone Age)

Pottery Uses of pottery • Cooking • Storing food • Burials How was pottery made? Chapter 4 | The Neolithic Period (New Stone Age)

Burial Customs What are ‘megalithic tombs’? ‘great’ ‘stone’ • Court cairns • Portal dolmens • Passage tombs Chapter 4 | The Neolithic Period (New Stone Age)

Burial Customs 2 1 4 How were megalithic tombs built? Chapter 4 | The Neolithic Period (New Stone Age) 3

Court Cairns What are … ? • Court • Cairn • Burial chamber • Cremation • Corbelled roof Creevykeel court cairn, Co. Sligo Chapter 4 | The Neolithic Period (New Stone Age)

Portal Dolmens What is the capstone/dolmen? What are the portals? Chapter 4 | The Neolithic Period (New Stone Age)

Passage Tombs What is the roof box? Chapter 4 | The Neolithic Period (New Stone Age)

Passage Tombs What happens on 21 December at Newgrange? Chapter 4 | The Neolithic Period (New Stone Age)

Passage Tombs What does Newgrange tell us about the people who built it? • They were well organised. • They were great builders. • They had a religion and believed in the afterlife. • They were astronomers and mathematicians. • They had many skilled craftsmen. Newgrange Pyramids in Egypt Stonehenge in England 3200 BC 2600 BC 2400 Bc Newgrange is older than other famous ancient sites Chapter 4 | The Neolithic Period (New Stone Age)

FOCUS TASK Summarise Draw up a table in a page of your copybook with the headings ‘Mesolithic Period’ and ‘Neolithic Period’. Fill in the information in short note form opposite each of the categories. STONE AGE IRELAND Mesolithic Period Houses Food & Family Tools & Weapons Art & Craft Burial customs Chapter 4 | The Neolithic Period (New Stone Age) Neolithic Period