Mankind left few traces in the Scottish landscape during the first 3000 years when nomadic, Mesolithic peoples populated the country. Those who relied on fishing, hunting, collecting wild plants, berries and nuts left no more than the debris of hearths and stone workings. The gradual emergence of the Mesolithic lifestyle into the more settled Neolithic left a lasting mark on the landscape (BC Scotland 1999). After around 4000 BC, people began to build permanent houses and burial places, the latter of which highlights, for many archaeologists, the culture and status of the long disappeared inhabitants.
Our Distant Ancestors
The understanding of Neolithic society in Britain is based largely on interpretations of the many burial and ceremonial structures that survive and the changes over time in the way these places were used. There is little information about the day-to-day lives of these people and, of course, no written evidence. Therefore, the crux of investigating the lives of ancient peoples lies in the burial sites and viewing the artefacts found therein. Also of great significance is evidence of a shift away from communal burial, around 2500 BC in Scotland, to individual burial sites, which suggest that Neolithic peoples had a reverence for certain individuals within their societal structure and buried prominent members according to their status (G Barclay 1998).
Artefacts and Ecofacts
The discovery of Grooved Ware pottery in some of the archaeological sites around Scotland, such as Balfarg, near Glenrothes, exemplifies the artistic culture of Neolithic peoples, but more tellingly, the evidence of traces of the hallucinogenic plant henbane suggests that some of these early societies were spiritually guided by a shaman-like elder, whose "visions" and wisdom thereof is comparable to the tribal populations of the North American plains. Further to this idea is the discovery of eagle feathers, talons and claws at the Isbister Chambered Tomb in Orkney and the presence of bleached, weathered human remains, suggesting the Isbister peoples did not immediately bury their dead, but laid them on platforms in the open air to decay and/or be eaten by birds in a process called excarnation.
Isbister Chambered Tomb
The Isbister Chambered Tomb, also known as the Tomb of the Eagles, highlighted an organised and cultured lifestyle according to the finds. In 1976, an enormous amount of artefacts was removed - human and animal bones, shells, pottery fragments, tools, seeds, necklace beads and a highly polished jet button. These finds suggest an industrious, civilised people who were articulate in expression. They also suggest that people were interred, after excarnation, with "grave goods," artefacts deemed valuable to the living and therefore buried with their dead.
Good Health at Isbister
The human skulls found at Isbister also convey, through the state of the remaining teeth, that the population of this area enjoyed good health. Their diet would have been mainly shellfish, cereals, meat and herbs. It can only be assumed that the animal bones interred with the human bones were either domesticated pets or stock kept for slaughter.
The Grey Cairns of Camster
The Grey Cairns of Camster in Caithness, in the far north of Scotland, have been magnificently restored. No artefacts remain today but the cairns stand silently in an enigmatic moorland landscape, a magnet for interested tourists. There are two cairns, each of different types - one being a ring cairn, the other being a a massive, long cairn with three chambers. The ring cairn is 18 metres in diameter and has a lintelled entrance passage of 6.1m, leading to a large corbelled central chamber. On excavation, in 1865, a thick layer of black earth was found together with charcoal, ashes with broken bones, some broken pots and some flint instruments. Several human skeleton remains were also found. The long cairn measures some 70m in length. Fragments of human bone were found on excavation, but no artfacts.
An Interpretation of the Cairns
The ring cairn, with that which may be perceived as grave goods, suggests the burial of hierarchical members of that particular Neolithic society. Either that or the area upon which the cairn was built had been used for the manufacture of everyday pots and flint instruments. The fact that only several human skeletons were found suggests that the ring cairn was used to interr the bodies of senior members of society. The long cairn, by its sheer size, and with no evidence of artefacts suggests that this was a communal burial place. By these simple clues, it can be deduced that the prehistoric peoples who inhabited the Camster area were industrious, innovative and articulate in their attention to detail; they had an awareness of authority and wisdom, respect for their dead and reverence for their ancestors. By building the cairns they encapsulated their culture and a sense of ownership on the landscape - a powerful message to all who subsequently arrived and settled in the area, and a means of reiterating to other tribal family groups moving into the area at that time, that they were established.
Two Important Archaeological Sites
Both the Isbister Chambered Tomb and the Grey Cairns of Camster were sites of engineering excellence, suggesting that the Neolithic peoples were intelligent thinkers, demonstrating a knowledge of engineering, maths and science. The effort and expertise put into the development of their burial places, using rudimentary tools and materials, suggest a belief in some divinity and gives credence to sensitive individuals living in dignified communities, according to their own code of ethics.
Another interesting point to note is the description of flint instrument fragments as "tools," not "weapons." The materials gleaned from books and websites to furnish this article does seem to impart an awareness of an ancient time of peace and harmony, the artefacts unearthed by modernity suggesting day-to-day living interspersed with spiritual awareness.
Perhaps war had yet to be experienced.
Sources
Gordon Barclay. Farmers, Tombs and Temples. 1998
Historic Scotland. Scotland BC. 1999
P.J. Ashmore. Neolithic and Bronze Age Scotland. 1996
caithness.org
creationresearch.org
Doreen Taylor - Conscientious and committed to good writing, I will endeavour to do my best for all my writers. I adore reading and learning new things ...
