Mesolithic Settlement Patterns

It is still the case that Ireland appears to be one of the areas of Europe last occu­pied by Homo sapiens sapiens. There is no definite evidence for Palaeolithic settlement. Ireland became an island early in the early post-glacial period and this has had a fundamental, long-term impact on the character of the fauna and flora and of course on human settlement. The earliest definite evidence for settlement is during the Mesolithic period, over 9,000 years ago. In the inter­pretation of this period when people were living a gathering, fishing and hunting lifestyle, and dramatic changes have taken place over the last thirty years. The vast bulk of the evidence dating to this period consists of lithic tools and debitage.

As recently as the early 1970s Woodman"' was still using the chrono­logical scheme put forward by Movius'" and modified by Mitchell. This saw the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) or Larnian as characterized by a large flake industry beginning c. 6000 BC and overlapping with die Neolithic (the Late Stone Age, characterized by a series of cultural changes including the introduc­tion of agriculture) in the form of a so-called 'Ultimate Larnian' which either stratigraphically or by the occurrence of products associated with farming clearly interdigitated with the activities of early farmers. In the early 1970s, however, Woodman'¹' was also trying to accommodate the recognition of a separate type of lithic industry producing microliths. Subsequently radiocarbon dates have made clear that this microlithic industry predates the Larnian one. This microlithic industry is the basis for the recogni­tion of an Early Mesolithic starting before 7000 BC and seen at sites like Mount Sandel, Co. Derry" and Lough Boora, Co. Offaly which contrasts with a Later Mesolithic dominated by large flake production and use as at sites like Newferry and Ferriter's Cove, Co. Kerry."" Notable features of the archaeolog­ical evidence are the lack of very definite evidence for an overlap between the Early and Later Mesolithic industrial traditions, the striking insularity of the Later Mesolithic and its overlap with the Neolithic.

Questionnaire:

• Explain about the Mesolithic Settlement Patterns.