Mesolithic and Neolithic Scotland
© Matthew White
In the Pleistocene age, Scotland was covered by glaciers. Around 13,500BC, temperatures began to warm up although there was a 'cold snap' from 11,000 to 10,000BC. Trees began to advance northwards, with birch woods appearing in the south of Scotland around 9,000BC, hazel about 8,250BC, elm circa 7,500BC and oak around 6,700BC. Scots Pine first appeared in the Grampian region between 6,300 to 5,500BC. Temperatures were slightly warmer than at present and rainfall was approximately 90% of today's average.
Mesolithic peoples were primarily hunter-gatherer societies, probably living in small groups. Archaeological evidence is rare although the remains of two campsites have been discovered, one at Morton in Fife and the other at the River Lussa. The people followed the seasons, moving as food supply dictated.
Shell middens have also been excavated, mainly in the islands on the west coast. Food consisted of fish, shellfish, deer and wild cattle with a few fruits, roots and hazelnuts. The population was probably sparse, with no more than ten to twenty people per 400 square miles.
Some Mesolithic artefacts have been found, including fishing hooks, stone tools and carved stone balls. Nobody knows the significance of the balls. Perhaps they were used in some kind of game.
Anthropologists generally agree that in such societies, breeding populations of a few hundreds are needed for long-term success so there was probably a form of marriage between peoples of different groups.
The latest research on genes show that nearly all persons of British lineage are descended are descended from these Mesolithic peoples.
Neolithic (c.4000 - 2500BC)
Gradually the hunter-gatherer society evolved into a farming one. There is no evidence of a large-scale invasion so it is most likely that a few immigrants shared their knowledge, which then spread. This process would have taken centuries with land being slowly cleared of trees and society becoming increasingly complex. It was during this period that the standing stones found all over Britain were initially constructed. Pottery is also found from this era and is regarded as one of the differentials between Mesolithic and Neolithic cultures.
Permanent settlements were established and a few have been discovered and investigated. On the mainland, these were probably constructed of timber, which have since disappeared but in areas where trees were scarce, stone was used. The ruins of some of these have survived giving us a tantalising glimpse of life at those times.
The most well known Neolithic settlement is probably Skara Brae on Orkney. Older than the Egyptian pyramids and Stonehenge, it was inhabited from 3,100 to 2,500BC. Built of unmortared stone and possibly roofed with whalebone, timber, turf and heather, the ruins reveal furniture made of stone. The dwellings typically contained rock slab beds with cupboards and stone seats, a grinding-stone and tanks set into the floor (probably used to prepare bait) as well as wall-recesses, some of which have drains running underneath them (possibly toilets!). The item I find most astonishing, however, is a stone dresser, presumably used to display treasured possessions such as carved stones, beads and jewellery!
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