The Ancients The First Irish
Jan 10, 2024
Explore Ireland's prehistoric past and the lives of its earliest communities. Discover the shared practices between Ireland and other parts of Mesolithic Europe. Dive into underwater archaeology and megalithic settlements. Learn about the challenges of labeling people as hunter-gatherers and the implications thereof. Uncover the evidence for studying the Mesolithic period in Ireland.
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Understanding the Mesolithic Period
- The Mesolithic means the Middle Stone Age between the end of the last Ice Age and the start of farming.
- In Ireland, the Mesolithic roughly spans 9700 BC to 4000 BC with shifting terminology compared to Britain.
Mesolithic Terminology and Trends
- Ireland's Mesolithic terminology is often misaligned with Britain's but actually shows similar trends.
- Ireland exhibits more extreme regionalization trends than Britain, not isolation or uniqueness.
Earliest Human Evidence in Ireland
- Ireland has no clear Paleolithic human presence due to glaciation and island isolation.
- Recent bone finds suggest possible late glacial human activity about 10,800 years ago, but evidence is sparse and debated.