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LIFE IN EARLY TIMES
The first people arrived in Ireland in 7000 BC, over 9000 years
ago! The whole island was covered with a thick forest and the first
people lived along rivers and near the coast. They probably arrived
by raft or animal skin canoes from what is now called Scotland.
These first settlers are known as Mesolithic people,
which means Middle Stone Age people. They did not know how to farm
and were hunter-gatherers. This means they collected
food like berries and nuts, and hunted animals like deer, hare,
fish and wild boar (pigs). They were nomadic people which means
they didn’t stay living in the same place, but moved around
the countryside. Their houses were probably made from sticks covered
with animal skins to make a round, tent like house.
Around 4000 BC or 6000 years ago farming was brought to Ireland
by the Neolithic people. Neolithic means New Stone
Age, and they were the first farmers. This means they grew crops
and kept animals as well as gathering some food from nature.
Farming meant that Neolithic people stayed in the same place so
they built better, larger houses. These were usually made from tree
trunks, sticks and mud with a thatched roof.
Both Mesolithic and Neolithic people used stone, usually flint,
to make tools and weapons. This is why they are known as Stone Age
people.
The Neolithic ended around 2500 BC when more people arrived in
Ireland, this time with the knowledge to use the metal bronze. Bronze
is made by mixing two other metals, copper and tin. For a while
both metal and stone was used, but over time using metal to make
tools and weapons took over.
The Bronze Age had arrived.
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