The work of a historian
Prehistory: period before writing was used. Historians rely on archaeology for evidence of this period. E.g Stone Age
Ireland.
Source: Evidence that historians use to build up a picture of the past is called a source. E.g documents, pictures,
letters.
Primary Source: Written or made at the time the event took place. Things that survive from the time being studied.
E.g diaries, letters, photos, artefacts, speeches.
Secondary Source: Second hand evidence. They are written after the event and are based on primary sources.
Written or made by someone who did not witness the event happening. E.g movies like Michael Collins, TV
documentaries, biography, history textbook.
Bias: one sided sources. An autobiography of a politician might only focus on their good points and successes.
Historians have to judge whether the source favours one side or another.
Propaganda: information used to influence people’s opinions. Propaganda might try to make one side look good
and someone else bad. Hitler used propaganda to make himself look good and to portray the Jews in a negative
light.
Skills of a historian: research (find information), sort information, understand causes, ask questions, make
judgements and communicate ideas.
BC: Before Christ
AD: Anno Domino
Archaeology
Artefact: any man made object that archaeologists dig up from the ground. Artefacts are used to build a picture of
what life was like thousands of years ago.
Tools used by an archaeologist: trowel (used for digging), hand pick (to loosen soil), brush (to make sure object isn’t
damaged), sieve (to separate soil from small artefacts).
Post-holes: timber poles used for building houses leave dark round patches called post holes.
Stratigraphy: dates objects by the depth at which they are found. Generally the deeper an object is,the older it is.
Carbon Dating: a method used by archaeologists to date objects. All living objects (humans, plants and animals)
have carbon 14. When they die the amount of carbon begins to decline, allowing archaeologists to work out its age.
Dendrochronology: Every year a tree grows a new ring. The age of the tree is determined by the number of rings.
Ancient Ireland
Mount Sandel: In Co. Derry the oldest settlement in Ireland. Carbon 14 Dating shows that people lived at this site
around 7000BC.
Mesolithic Ireland (Middle Stone Age) 7000BC to 3500 BC
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Early settlers probably came here from Scotland or Wales (in dugout canoes or small boats)
Country was covered in dense forest, with lots of rivers and lakes. First settlers settled along the coast or
along river banks.
Animals such as wild boar, wolves, red deer and foxes lived in the forests. Fish were plentiful in the rivers
and lakes, e.g. salmon, trout and eel. They cooked the food on spits.
First settlers were hunter gatherers and used simple tools.
They lived in circular huts – wooden branches were bent into shape of a dome and covered in animal skins,
making a tent like home.
Tools and weapons were made from small stones (flint), sharpened to make spears or knives.
Clothes were made from animal skins.
Diet – fish, deer, wild boar, hazelnuts, berries. The men hunted for meat and women gathered nuts and
berries.
Midden – a heap of kitchen waste found at ancient sites
Neolithic Ireland (the New Stone Age) 3500BC to 2000BC
Neolithic farmers: The first farmers came to Ireland during this period, probably from Britain. They brought cattle,
sheep, goats and pigs with them. They also brought seeds for plants such as wheat, oats and barley. They depended
less on hunting and gathering. They grew crops and kept animals. They cleared the forest and fenced in their fields.
Neolithic tools: they had better stone tools than Mesolithic settlers. Stone axes were used to cut down trees
Neolithic clothes: continued to wear animal skin but they also made clothes from wool from the sheep kept on their
farms. People had discovered how to spin and weave cloth. Dyes were made from berries and plants. Necklaces
made from bone were worn.
Neolithic Houses: Neolithic people were more settled, they didn’t move around as much. They built stronger
houses. Houses were made from wood and were usually rectangular in shape. Thick wooden posts were place at the
corners and the walls were made by weaving branches in and out (wattle). A mixture of mud and straw was
plastered on the wattle to keep out the rain (Daub). The roof was made from straw. In the centre of the room was
the fire. There was no chimney (very unhealthy- smoky). People slept on beds of straw. Lough Gur - an example of
Neolithic settlement.
Neolithic Pottery: Neolithic farmers also discovered how to make pottery from clay. They moulded wet clay into a
bowl, left it to dry, and then baked it to harden. Clay pots were used for storing food and for cooking.
Megalithic Tombs: Neolithic people marked death by building large stone tombs known as megaliths. Mega = huge.
Lithos = stone.
Court Cairns: these Neolithic burial chambers get their name from an open area or court at the entrance to the
tomb. The tomb is made of upright stones covered over with earth and stones.
Dolmens: look like huge stone tables. The dolmen consists of three standing stones on which a capstone was placed.
Some capstones weigh over 100 tonnes. The body was place under the dolmen.
Passage graves: they get their name from a long passageway, which leads from the entrance to the burial chamber.
From the outside the passage tomb looks like a hill or circular mound of earth. The most famous passage tomb is at
Newgrange, Co. Meath.
Newgrange: the passage at Newgrange is over 19 metres long and the chamber is 6 metres high. The roof of the
chamber is corbelled (stones one on top of each other)The builders of Newgrange were great engineers and showed
an understanding of astronomy. A small opening allows the sunlight to travel along the passage to light up the burial
chamber on the 21st of December every year.
Bronze Age Ireland – 2000BC
Around 200BC, new people came to Ireland and brought with them a very important invention, the first use of
metal. Slowly the Stone Age gave way to the Bronze Age as bronze tools replaced stone tools. Bronze Age people
were known as Beaker people because of the new style of pottery they made.
Bronze: a metal – mixture of copper and tin.
Fulacht Fiadh: A Bronze Age cooker. Bronze Age people dug pits near rivers. They lined the pit with wood and filled
it with river water. Beside the pit they lit a fire and heated stones in it. When the stones were red hot they put them
in the pit, making the water boil. Then they wrapped joints of meat in straw and put them in the water to cook.
Bronze Age Jewellery: earrings, bracelets, necklaces and other ornaments from this period have been excavated
around the country. Jewellery was also made from gold during the Bronze Age.
Bronze Age burial customs
Cist graves: a cist is a pit in the ground, lined with stone slabs and covered with a large flat stone. The bodies were
placed in the grave. Food weapons of ornaments were sometimes placed in the grave. This tells us that Bronze Age
people believed in the afterlife.
Wedge tombs: look a bit like portal dolmens. They are wide and high at one end and low and narrow at the other.
The stone slabs were covered over with earth. The ashes of cremated bodies were placed in pottery in wedge
tombs.
Stone circles: these are tall upright stones arranged in circles or rows. Most stone circles are aligned in some way to
the movement of the sun. Some archaeologists have suggested that they could have acted as some sort of calendar
for farmers. They might also have been used as a place of worship as well as for burials.