Park Law Iron Age settlement near Sourhope in the Borders, was the site of an agricultural settlement during the Iron Age. Nearby hillsides have prominent lynchets or cultivation rigs.
Agriculture in prehistoric Scotland includes all forms of farm production in the modern boundaries of Scotland before the beginning of the early historic era. Scotland has between a fifth and a sixth of the arable or good pastoral land of England and Wales, mostly in the south and east. Heavy rainfall encouraged the spread of acidic blanket peat bog, which with wind and salt spray, made most of the western islands treeless. Hills, mountains, quicksands and marshes made internal communication and agriculture difficult.
In the Neolithic period, from around 6,000 years ago, there is evidence of permanent settlements and farming. The two main sources of food were grain and cow's milk. In the early Bronze Age, arable land spread at the expense of forest, but towards the end of the period there is evidence of the abandonment of farming in the uplands and deterioration of soils. From the Iron Age, hill forts in southern Scotland are associated with cultivation ridges and terraces. Souterrains, small underground constructions, may have been for storing perishable agricultural products. Extensive prehistoric field systems underlie existing boundaries in some Lowland areas, suggesting that the fertile plains were already densely exploited for agriculture. During the period of Roman occupation of Britain there was re-growth of birch, oak and hazel indicating a reduction in agriculture.
Scotland is roughly half the size of England and Wales and has approximately the same amount of coastline, but only between a fifth and a sixth of the amount of the arable or good pastoral land, under 60 metres above sea level, and most of this is located in the south and east. This made marginal pastoral farming and fishing, the key factors in the pre-modern economy.[2] Its east Atlantic position means that it has very heavy rainfall: today about 700cm per year in the east and over 1,000cm in the west. This encouraged the spread of blanket peat bog, the acidity of which, combined with high level of wind and salt spray, made most of the western islands treeless. The existence of hills, mountains, quicksands and marshes made agriculture and internal communication difficult.[3]
At times during the last interglacial period (130,000–70,000 BCE) Europe had a climate warmer than it is today, and early humans may have made their way to Scotland, though archaeologists have found no traces of this. Glaciers then scoured their way across most of Britain, and only after the ice retreated did Scotland again become habitable, around 9600 BCE.[4]Mesolithic hunter-gatherer encampments formed the first known settlements, and archaeologists have dated an encampment near Biggar to around 8500 BCE.[5] Numerous other sites found around Scotland build up a picture of highly mobile boat-using people making tools from bone, stone and antlers.[6] The oldest house for which there is evidence in Britain is the oval structure of wooden posts found at South Queensferry near the Firth of Forth, dating from the Mesolithic period, about 8240 BCE.[7]
The houses at Knap of Howar, demonstrating the beginning of settled agriculture in Scotland
From the Neolithic period, beginning around 6,000 years ago, there is evidence of permanent settlements and farming. This includes the settlement at Dunning in Perthshire, dating from 3800 to 3700 BCE, which includes faint plough marks, probably made by a hand-held scratch plough known as an ard, which does not turn over the soil.[8] There is the well-preserved stone house at Knap of Howar on Papa Westray, dating from around 3500 BCE[9] and the village of similar houses at Skara Brae on West Mainland, Orkney from about 500 years later.[10] Evidence of prehistoric farming includes small plots of improved land, with simple stone boundaries. In Shetland these have been found under peat and on the mainland they are associated with cairnfields, piles of rocks that have been cleared from fields.[11]
There was removal of oak-birch woodland in areas of good coastal or river access where archaeological remains from the period are most abundant, mainly through livestock grazing.[12] Archaeological evidence of pollen, pottery, settlements and human remains, indicates that the two main sources of food were grain and cow's milk, in a pattern that probably remained constant until the High Middle Ages.[13] There is also some limited evidence of the cultivation of flax from this period.[14]
From the beginning of the Bronze Age, about 2000 BCE, extensive analyses of Black Loch in Fife indicate that arable land spread at the expense of forest.[15] The oak-birch woodlands were eroded in the more accessible areas of the uplands by seasonal grazing of livestock and through some use of slash and burn and woodcutting methods of clearance.[12] However, towards the end of the period, pollen analyses indicate that climate deterioration meant that arable farming was abandoned at upland sites and there were increases in the intensity of anthropogenic impacts at lowland sites, of agriculture leading to changes in the structure of soils.[16] Traditionally this was seen as leading to the abandonment of intensive agriculture, but more recent studies have indicated that it was possible to renew and maintain the fertility of soils.[17]
There is scattered evidence of field systems in this period, with extensive walls in some areas, suggesting pastoral agriculture. Excavations like that at the Scord of Brouster field-system, with its enclosing walls, low lynchets and clearance heaps, suggests that it was part of a larger enclosed landscape. A rig discovered at North Mains indicates that there may have been ridged field surfaces that have been eroded by later agricultural activity.[18] Key arable crops included barley and flax. Oats were not cultivated and grew as wild grass.[19]
Peace Knowe Hillfort, West Lothian. From their introduction in the Iron Age hillforts became major centres of agriculture.
From the Iron Age, beginning in the seventh century BCE, as elsewhere in Europe, hill forts were first introduced.[20] Some of these forts in southern Scotland are associated with cultivation ridges and terraces.[11] Over 400 souterrains, small underground constructions, have been discovered in Scotland, many of them in the south-east, and although few have been dated, those that have suggest a construction date in the second or third centuries CE. They are usually found close to settlements (whose timber frames are much less well-preserved) and may have been for storing perishable agricultural products.[21] There are about 100 hollow-walled circular drystone broch towers, probably dating from about 200 BCE, and unique to Scotland.[22][23] Many had surrounding ditches or defensive walls, which may have contained several houses and they were probably designed to defend the most valuable stretches of agricultural land.[24]
Aerial photography has revealed extensive prehistoric field systems that underlie existing boundaries in some Lowland areas, suggesting that the fertile plains were already densely exploited for agriculture.[11] There was extensive removal of oak-elm-hazel woodland, initially near settlements and major thoroughfares, particularly from felling for fuel.[12] Domesticated animals included sheep and smaller numbers of cattle and pigs.[25] During the period of Roman occupation of what is now northern England, and occasional advances into Southern Scotland, there was re-growth of birch-oak woodlands for five centuries, suggesting that the Roman invasions had a negative impact on the native population and the extent of agriculture.[15]
Notes
↑ Lyons, Anona May (cartographer) (2000), "Subsistence Potential of the Land", in McNeil, Peter G. B.; MacQueen, Hector L. (eds.), Atlas of Scottish History to 1707, Edinburgh: The Scottish Medievalists and Department of Geography, University of Edinburgh, p.15, ISBN0-9503904-1-0 .
↑ E. Gemmill and N. J. Mayhew, Changing Values in Medieval Scotland: a Study of Prices, Money, and Weights and Measures (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), ISBN0521473853, pp. 8–10.
↑ C. Harvie, Scotland: a Short History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), ISBN0192100548, pp. 10–11.
↑ F. Pryor, Britain B.C.: Life in Britain and Ireland before the Romans (London: Harper Collins, 2003), ISBN000712693X, p. 99.
↑ P. J. Ashmore, Neolithic and Bronze Age Scotland: an Authoritative and Lively Account of an Enigmatic Period of Scottish Prehistory (London: Batsford, 2003), ISBN0713475307, p. 19.
↑ F. Pryor, Britain B.C.: Life in Britain and Ireland before the Romans (London: Harper Collins, 2003), ISBN000712693X, pp. 98–104 and 246–50.
1 2 3 I. D. Whyte, "Economy: primary sector: 1 Agriculture to 1770s", in M. Lynch, ed., The Oxford Companion to Scottish History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), ISBN0-19-211696-7, pp. 206–7.
↑ A. Fenton, "Diet", in M. Lynch, ed., The Oxford Companion to Scottish History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), ISBN0-19-211696-7, pp. 167–70.
↑ J. T. Koch, ed., Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia, Volume 1 (ABC-CLIO, 2006), ISBN1851094407, p. 25.
1 2 T. C. Smout, R. MacDonald and F. Watson, A History of the Native Woodlands of Scotland 1500–1920 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2nd edn., 2007), ISBN9780748632947, p. 34.
↑ R. Tipping, A. Davies, R. McCulloch and E. Tisdall, "Response to late Bronze Age climate change of farming communities in north east Scotland", Journal of Archaeological Science, 35 (8), (2008), pp. 2379–2386.
↑ D. A. Davidson and S. P. Carter, "Soils and evolution" in K. J. Edwards and I. Ralston, Scotland After the Ice Age: Environment, Archaeology and History, 8000 BC – AD 1000 (Edinburgh; Edinburgh University Press, 2003), ISBN0748617361, pp. 59–60.
↑ A. F. Harding, European Societies in the Bronze Age (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), ISBN0521367298, p. 146.
↑ A. Moffat, Before Scotland: The Story of Scotland Before History (London: Thames & Hudson, 2005), ISBN0500287953, p. 182.
↑ R. Miket, "The souterrains of Skye" in B. B. Smith and I. Banks, eds, In the Shadow of the Brochs (Stroud: Tempus, 2002), ISBN0-7524-2517-X, pp.77–110.
↑ I. Armit, Towers in the North: The Brochs of Scotland (Stroud: Tempus, 2003), ISBN0-7524-1932-3, pp. 15–16.
↑ J. Dyer, Ancient Britain (London, Routledge, 2002), ISBN1134745966, p. 143.
↑ F. McCormick and P. C. Buckland, "Faunal change: the vertebrate fauna", K. J. Edwards and I. Ralston, Scotland After the Ice Age: Environment, Archaeology and History, 8000 BC – AD 1000 (Edinburgh; Edinburgh University Press, 2003), ISBN0748617361, p. 101.
A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found in Scotland. Brochs belong to the classification "complex Atlantic roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s. Their origin is a matter of some controversy.
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts of the world. This "Neolithic package" included the introduction of farming, domestication of animals, and change from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to one of settlement.
The Vinča culture, also known as Turdaș culture, Turdaș–Vinča culture or Vinča-Turdaș culture, is a Neolithic archaeological culture of Southeast Europe, dated to the period 5700–4500 BC or 5300–4700/4500 BC. Named for its type site, Vinča-Belo Brdo, a large tell settlement discovered by Serbian archaeologist Miloje Vasić in 1908, it represents the material remains of a prehistoric society mainly distinguished by its settlement pattern and ritual behaviour.
Jarlshof is the best-known prehistoric archaeological site in Shetland, Scotland. It lies in Sumburgh, Mainland, Shetland and has been described as "one of the most remarkable archaeological sites ever excavated in the British Isles". It contains remains dating from 2500 BC up to the 17th century AD.
Archaeology and geology continue to reveal the secrets of prehistoric Scotland, uncovering a complex past before the Romans brought Scotland into the scope of recorded history. Successive human cultures tended to be spread across Europe or further afield, but focusing on this particular geographical area sheds light on the origin of the widespread remains and monuments in Scotland, and on the background to the history of Scotland.
This timeline of prehistoric Scotland is a chronologically ordered list of important archaeological sites in Scotland and of major events affecting Scotland's human inhabitants and culture during the prehistoric period. The period of prehistory prior to occupation by the genus Homo is part of the geology of Scotland. Prehistory in Scotland ends with the arrival of the Romans in southern Scotland in the 1st century AD and the beginning of written records. The archaeological sites and events listed are the earliest examples or among the most notable of their type.
Agriculture in Scotland includes all land use for arable, horticultural or pastoral activity in Scotland, or around its coasts. The first permanent settlements and farming date from the Neolithic period, from around 6,000 years ago. From the beginning of the Bronze Age, about 2000 BCE, arable land spread at the expense of forest. From the Iron Age, beginning in the seventh century BCE, there was use of cultivation ridges and terraces. During the period of Roman occupation there was a reduction in agriculture and the early Middle Ages were a period of climate deterioration resulting in more unproductive land. Most farms had to produce a self-sufficient diet, supplemented by hunter-gathering. More oats and barley were grown, and cattle were the most important domesticated animal. From c. 1150 to 1300, the Medieval Warm Period allowed cultivation at greater heights and made land more productive. The system of infield and outfield agriculture may have been introduced with feudalism from the twelfth century. The rural economy boomed in the thirteenth century, but by the 1360s there was a severe falling off in incomes to be followed by a slow recovery in the fifteenth century.
Scotland during the Roman Empire refers to the protohistorical period during which the Roman Empire interacted within the area of modern Scotland. Despite sporadic attempts at conquest and government between the 1st and 4th centuries AD, most of modern Scotland, inhabited by the Caledonians and the Maeatae, was not incorporated into the Roman Empire.
Prehistoric Orkney refers only to the prehistory of the Orkney archipelago of Scotland that begins with human occupation. Although some records referring to Orkney survive that were written during the Roman invasions of Scotland, “prehistory” in northern Scotland is defined as lasting until the start of Scotland's Early Historic Period.
The Neolithic British Isles refers to the period of British, Irish and Manx history that spanned c. 4000 to c. 2,500 BCE. The final part of the Stone Age in the British Isles, it was a part of the greater Neolithic, or "New Stone Age", across Europe. It was preceded by the Mesolithic and followed by the Bronze Age.
The economy of Scotland in the Middle Ages covers all forms of economic activity in the modern boundaries of Scotland, between the End of Roman rule in Britain in the early fifth century, until the advent of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century, including agriculture, crafts and trade. Having between a fifth or sixth (15-20 %) of the arable or good pastoral land and roughly the same amount of coastline as England and Wales, marginal pastoral agriculture and fishing were two of the most important aspects of the Medieval Scottish economy. With poor communications, in the early Middle Ages most settlements needed to achieve a degree of self-sufficiency in agriculture. Most farms were operated by a family unit and used an infield and outfield system.
The architecture of Scotland in the Roman era includes all building within the modern borders of Scotland, from the arrival of the Romans in northern Britain in the first century BCE, until their departure in the fifth century CE. Ptolemy indicated that there were 19 "towns" in Caledonia, north of the Roman province of Britannia, but no clear evidence of urban settlements has been found and these were probably hillforts. There is evidence of over 1,000 such forts, most south of the Clyde-Forth line, but the majority seem to have been abandoned in the Roman period. There is also evidence of distinctive stone wheelhouses and small underground souterrains.
The architecture of Scotland in the prehistoric era includes all human building within the modern borders of Scotland, before the arrival of the Romans in Britain in the first century BCE. Stone Age settlers began to build in wood in what is now Scotland from at least 8,000 years ago. The first permanent houses of stone were constructed around 6,000 years ago, as at Knap of Howar, Orkney and settlements like Skara Brae. There are also large numbers of chambered tombs and cairns from this era, particularly in the west and north. In the south and east there are earthen barrows, often linked to timber monuments of which only remnants remain. Related structures include bank barrows, cursus monuments, mortuary enclosures and timber halls. From the Bronze Age there are fewer new buildings, but there is evidence of crannogs, roundhouses built on artificial islands and of Clava cairns and the first hillforts. From the Iron Age there is evidence of substantial stone Atlantic roundhouses, which include broch towers, smaller duns. There is also evidence of about 1,000 hillforts in Scotland, most located below the Clyde-Forth line.
Hillforts in Scotland are earthworks, sometimes with wooden or stone enclosures, built on higher ground, which usually include a significant settlement, built within the modern boundaries of Scotland. They were first studied in the eighteenth century and the first serious field research was undertaken in the nineteenth century. In the twentieth century there were large numbers of archaeological investigations of specific sites, with an emphasis on establishing a chronology of the forts. Forts have been classified by type and their military and ritual functions have been debated.
The demographic history of Scotland includes all aspects of population history in what is now Scotland. Scotland may have been first occupied in the last interglacial period, but the earliest surviving archaeological evidence of human settlement is of Mesolithic hunter-gatherer encampments. These suggest a highly mobile boat-using people, probably with a very low density of population. Neolithic farming brought permanent settlements dating from 3500 BC, and greater concentrations of population. Evidence of hillforts and other buildings suggest a growing settled population. Changes in the scale of woodland indicates that the Roman invasions from the first century AD had a negative impact on the native population.
Prehistoric art in Scotland is visual art created or found within the modern borders of Scotland, before the departure of the Romans from southern and central Britain in the early fifth century CE, which is usually seen as the beginning of the early historic or Medieval era. There is no clear definition of prehistoric art among scholars and objects that may involve creativity often lack a context that would allow them to be understood.
Housing in Scotland includes all forms of built habitation in what is now Scotland, from the earliest period of human occupation to the present day. The oldest house in Scotland dates from the Mesolithic era. In the Neolithic era settled farming led to the construction of the first stone houses. There is also evidence from this period of large timber halls. In the Bronze Age there were cellular round crannogs and hillforts that enclosed large settlements. In the Iron Age cellular houses begin to be replaced on the northern isles by simple Atlantic roundhouses, substantial circular buildings with a drystone construction. The largest constructions that date from this era are the circular brochs and duns and wheelhouses.
The history of agriculture in Scotland includes all forms of farm production in the modern boundaries of Scotland, from the prehistoric era to the present day.
Agriculture in Scotland in the Middle Ages includes all forms of farm production in the modern boundaries of Scotland, between the departure of the Romans from Britain in the fifth century and the establishment of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. Scotland has between a fifth and a sixth of the amount of the arable or good pastoral land of England and Wales, mostly located in the south and east. Heavy rainfall encouraged the spread of acidic blanket peat bog, which with wind and salt spray, made most of the western islands treeless. The existence of hills, mountains, quicksands and marshes made internal communication and agriculture difficult. Most farms had to produce a self-sufficient diet of meat, dairy products and cereals, supplemented by hunter-gathering. The early Middle Ages were a period of climate deterioration resulting in more land becoming unproductive. Farming was based around a single homestead or a small cluster of three or four homes, each probably containing a nuclear family and cattle were the most important domesticated animal.
The Cornish Bronze Age is an era of the history of Cornwall that spanned the period from c. 2400 BCE to c. 800 BCE. It was preceded by the Cornish Neolithic, and followed by the Cornish Iron Age. It is characterized by the introduction and widespread use of copper and copper-alloy (bronze) weapons and tools.
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