Ch.2-Ancient Ireland Flashcards
Where did the first settlers arrive in Ireland?
Mount Sandel,Co.Derry
What did the first settlers come in?
Dugout-canoes (animal skins held together by wooden frame)
Why did the first settlers live along the coast of ireland?
Because the forest was very dense
What were the first settlers called?
hunter-gatherers
What were hunter-gatherers huts like?
The frame was built from saplings (young trees) and then covered in animal skins or rushes. There was a hearth in the middle and small heaps of kitchen waste on the outside called middens.
What were hunter-gatherers tools like?
They were made from small stones and pieces of flint called microlits. The stones were then set into pieces of wood to make axes or spears.
How were hunter-gatherers clothes made?
Using animal skins and they were stitched together using a needle made of bone. Stones called scrapers were used to clean them
Why were they called hunter gatherers?
Because they hunted wild boar and birds and gathered nuts and berries.
What were the first farmers called?
Neolithic farmers
How were the neolithic tools made?
With polished stone
How did neolithic farmers prepare land?
With mattocks or wooden ploughs. They grew wheat and barley. they placed the crops into a hollow stone and used a smaller one to grind it (a quern).
How did neolithic farmers make their clothes?
From animal skin and sheep’s wool. The art of spinning and weaving was used and dyes from plants was used to add colour.
How were neolithic houses made?
They were made from wood and/or stone. They were rectangular. The walls were made from placing large posts in the ground and weaving branches in between them (wattle) and then a mix of mud and straw was plastered on (daub) to keep the rain out. The roof was made of straw or rushes
How did neolithic people cook?
In a fireplace in the middle of the floor. A hole was made in the roof to act as a chimney
What was neolithic food stored in?
Clay pots
What were the three main tombs?
They were called megoliths. Dolmen, court cairn and passage grave
Explain dolmen
It means stone table. It was made of 3 standing stones and a capstone. The body/ashes and grave goods were placed under and a heap of earth covered it
Explain court cairn
It had a small entrance area. standing stones were then covered by earth
Explain passage grave
Its a long passageway leading to a burial chamber. E.g. Newgrange in meath. It has a corbeled roof (each layer of stone was placed slightly sticking out from the one below it. A roof box was small opening at main entrance
What was a roof box
It was a small opening at the entrance that allowed sunlight into the passage to light the chamber at dawn on the 21st of December.
How is bronze made?
Its a mix of tin and copper that was began in 2000bc
What was a sickle
It was a common bronze age tool used to cut crops and grass
What was gold used for in the bronze age?
Jewellery -> lunala = a half moon necklace (plural is lunalae)
What were bronze age graves called?
Cist graves and wedge tombs
