The Neolithic Period
Food
The Neolithic people were farmers.
They grew crops and brought domestic animals.

Neolithic settlements have been found in the Céide Fields in Mayo.

Tools and Weapons
They used axes to cut down trees, and turned soil with mattocks and stone ploughs.
Needles were made from bone.
Pottery was also made. Using clay, pots were moulded and then hardened in a bonfire.

Houses
They wove sticks together to create a base and caked the walls in mud for insulation. This method was known as wattle and daub.

Burial customs
The tombs were known as megalithic tombs as the rocks used were huge.
There were 3 main types of megalithic tombs

Court-cairns

There was an open entrance (the court) and a passageway which led to a room (the cairn)
Here, the remains and precious goods were found.

Dolmens

The cremated remains were placed under three standing stones and a capstone (across the top).

Passage tombs

Newgrange in Meath is a famous passage tomb, due to the fact that on December 21 every year the sun lights up the whole tomb. The remains of 4 people were found when the site was excavated in 1962. Passage tombs have a corbelled roof, which is where stones are placed on top of each other until they meet in the middle. A capstone is then placed on top. Outside the tomb, artwork and kerbstones are often found.

	Created by conorpahalpin over 10 years ago

History Note on Stone Age Ireland, created by conorpahalpin on 12/02/2013.

Stone Age Ireland