Section 2-Early Ireland- The Neolithic Period Flashcards
Who were the Neolithic people
They were farmers.since weapons and too,s were still made from stone we are in the Stone Age however archeologists call this the New Stone Age or the Neolithic period
Who were the first farmers
Farming begun in Mesopotamia around 8000 bc.the skill of farming spread very slowly across Europe.the first farmers that came to Ireland probably came from Britain
What tools and weapons did they use
As well as using Flint the Neolithic people used porcellanite. A heavier and tougher stone
Where can you find porcellanite
You can find it in Antrim and in rathlin island
How do we know that the Neolithic people travelled
We know because axe-heads and other porcellanite tools have been found all over Ireland and Britain.many of them from stone quarried in Antrim
How did the y make there homes
They used a method called wattle and daub.inside the house three was only one room.one the floor on the centre of the room was space for a big open fire.since there were no chimney or Windows they had to have a hole in the roof.the houses must be smokes and dark
What skills did they have
They could make pottery,clothes and they could farm
How did they make clothes
They discovered how to weave and spin cloth. Dyes were made from berries and plants
How do we know that the Neolithic people wear jewellery
We know this because of the necklaces made from stone and pendants made from stone were found at Lough gur
What skill did farmers learn
Farmers learnt how to make pottery from clay.they were the first ones to discover this skill
How did the farmers make the pottery
To make a bowl they took a lump of wet clay and moulders it into the shape of a pot with their fists.they left the pot to dry and baked them in the fire some pots were decorated using sticks or. Their fingernails
How do we know that the farmers build stone walls around their fields
We know this because archeologists found stone walls buried under a bog at the cèide fields,co. Mayo
What is a quern stone
A queen stone would have been used to grind flower into bread
When did Neolithic farming end
It ended at the the cèide fields around 3000bc.nobody knows why this happened
What was the average height for a man or a woman
The average hight for a man was 1.7 metres and the average hight for a woman was 1.6 metres
Where did most of our information come from
They came from the tombs they left behind
Were they well organised and skilful people,how do we know
Yes,we know because of the cèide fields that they were skilful and organised
Name two new skills that the Neolithic people brought the Ireland
They brought pottery and clothes
What changes did archeologists notice around 4000bc
They notice that there is more pollen in the grass than the trees
They found pollen from wheat and barley-stuff than needed to be planted from seed
They found goats sheep and cattle bones dating back to this time
This proves that they were starting to farm
Did the Neolithic farmers believe in after life,how do we know
Yes,we know because they went to great trouble to build very sophisticated tombs for there dead
What do we call the tombs
Archeologists call them megalithic toms because they are made from large stones or megaliths
What can the tombs tell us
They tell us a lot about the Neolithic people and there beliefs
Name three types of tombs
They’re court cairns,dolmens and passage tombs
What other name do court cairns have and where can they be found
The are also caller court tombs and they can be found in the northern half of the country
Name the earliest type of megalithic tomb
The earliest type of megalithic tomb is the court cairns/tomb
Where do the court cairns/tomb get there name
They get their name from an open area-a court- at the entrance of the tomb
What would they have been used for
They could have been used for religious ceremonies before a burial took place
What is tomb made up of
The tomb is made up of upright stones covered up in earth and Earth
Define cairn
The word cairn means a mound of stones
What does the inside of a cairn tomb look like
Inside of a cairn there is a passage way that leads to the chamber in the centre
Define dolmen
A tomb made up of upright stones
Define capstone
It is a large flat stone that lays on top of the dolmen
What other names do dolmens have
Portal tombs
What do dolmens look like
Dolmens look like huge stone tables
How do you make a dolmen
To make a dolmen two or three large stones are put upright and a very large stone is out on top called a capstone
How much do capstones way
They way over 100 tonnes
Name the most impressive tomb
The most impressive tomb are the passage tombs
What does the passage tomb look like
They look like a hill or a circular mound of earth from the outside and from the inside it has a passage to the chamber
Name the most famous passage way tomb
It is in newgrange co. Meath
Name a passage way on the river boyne
The newgrange passageway
Name three other discoveries the archeologists found
Artwork, roof box, cor belled roof
Describe the artwork
Many of the stones along the passage are decorated with spiral and djmond shaped
What is a corbelled roof
The roof is an extension of the wall.each layer of the wall is placed slightly inside the one below overlapping until they meet a single stone at the centre making a cone shape
Why was newgrange buitt
It was used as a tomb
What does newgrange tell us about the Neolithic people
They were skilled builders they understood the movements of the sun and astronomy They were very artistic They believed in after life They have great respect for their dead
Give two reasons this was called the Stone Age
They used stone tools
Define Neolithic
Neolithic is the period when people farmed and had better stone tools
