Chapter 2 Early Ireland Flashcards
When did the first settlers arrive in Ireland?
The first settlers arrived in Ireland about 9000 years ago.
How do we know about Mesolithic people?
We know a lot about Mesolithic people from evidence found by archaeologists at Mount Sandel, Coleraine, Co. Derry.
What was flint used for during the Mesolithic period?
Big pieces of flint were used for spears and axe heads for hunting and fishing. Small pieces were used as knives and scrapers.
What is the Mesolithic Period
The Mesolithic Period or Middle Stone Age is a period when hunter-gatherers used simple stone tools.
How did Mesolithic people make their homes?
They discovered a circle of post holes and evidence that fires were lit in the Centre of the circle. Branches would have been bent to make the shape of a dome. Animal skins would then be put up to cover the branches
What is a hunter-gatherer?
A hunter-gatherer is when a man gets food by hunting animals and women by gathering nuts and berries.
How do we know that Mesolithic people ate a variety of different foods?
We know that the Mesolithic people ate a variety of different food because archaeologists have found hazelnut shells, Bones of deer and wild pig and fish shells and fish bones at Mount Sandel.
What were the main changes between Mesolithic and Neolithic?
By the Neolithic period:
Trees were cut down
Crops were planted
People raised animals
What stone were Neolithic tools made of?
Porcellanite
Why were peoples houses of better quality in the Neolithic period than in the Mesolithic period?
Many Neolithic people were farmers so they no longer had to move around all the time.
What method did Neolithic people make they’re houses out of?
Wattle and Daub
What did farmers from Britain bring to Ireland?
Farmers brought seeds,plants and livestock from Britain.
At what time did people begin to farm in Ireland?
Around 4000BC
What sights can Neolithic settlements be found at?
Lough Gur Co. Limerick and Céide fields
Explain Wattle and daub?
Branches were weaved in and out of planks like a huge basket. Then Mud and straw was plastered over the woven walls to cover up cracks.
Why were Neolithic people able to make better clothes than Mesolithic people?
Neolithic people had wool from sheep available to use
Dyes were made from berries and wild plants
Neolithic people wore jewellery.
What did Neolithic people use to make pottery and what did they make?
Neolithic people make pottery out of clay and used clay pots to store food and for cooking.
What evidence is there that people started taking ownership of plots of land in the Neolithic period?
Stone walls were built to make fences around fields and protect the livestock. Some of these walls have been found in the Céide Fields and are still standing.
What was a quern stone used for?
A queen stone was used to grind flour and make bread.
What did Neolithic people believe happened to their dead?
Neolithic people believed that the spirit left the body and moved on in an afterlife.
How many Megalithic tombs are in Ireland and when were they built?
They’re are over 2000 Megalithic tombs in Ireland and were built over 5000 years ago.
Name the types of Megalithic tombs?
Court Cairns,Dolmens and Passage tombs.
What is in a court cairn?
A court cairn is made of upright stones covered over with earth.
Inside the Court Cairn there is a passage leading to the center chamber. Pottery bowels containing cremated (burnt) human remains.
What is a Dolmen?
A Dolmens are made of two or three large upright stones with another very large stone called a capstone lying on top.
What is a capstone?
A large flat stone on top of a dolmen.
How much do some capstones way?
100 tonnes
Name an example of a Dolmen?
The Pulnabrone Dolmen in the Burren Co. Clare
What is a passage tomb?
A passage tomb is like a court cairn only much bigger
From the outside they look like a hill or mound of Earth. Inside there is a long PASSAGE leading to an inner chamber.
How many passage Tombs are in Ireland? Name One?
There are over 200 passage tombs in Ireland one of which is Newgrange Co. Meath.
When did the Stone Age end and the Bronze Age Start?
Around 2500BCE
When did the Bronze Age come to Ireland?
The Bronze Age came to Ireland around 2000BCE.
Who were the Beaker people?
The Beaker people made a new type of pottery and are the first people who have been found to use metal in Ireland.
What did the Beaker people add to Copper to make Bronze?
Tin
How did the beaker people make Bronze?
Fires were lit beside the rocks containing copper
When the rock got hot cold water was thrown on it this exposed the rock and cracked it.
They used stone hammers to break out the copper
The copper was placed in a big fire to melt the copper to liquid
Then the copper was mixed with tin and poured into bowls to make tools and weapons.
Name an example of a place at which copper mines have been found?
At Mount Gabriel in Co.Cork their is evidence of extensive copper mining.
What was the process of separating the copper from the rock called?
Smelting
What were the people who made the tools and weapons called?
Smiths.
What was the process of pouring the liquid metal into mounds called?
Casting.
Why have archaeologists found tools and weapons in large numbers under the ground? Name an example of a hoard.
Smiths buried their tools for safekeeping that is why loads of bronze axes, knives and tools have been found in large numbers (hoards) under the ground. The most famous of these is the Broighter Hoard in Co. Derry.
Name two items of Bronze Age jewellery?
Lunulae and Torcs