Scotland!

I plan to dedicate, or perhaps mainly dedicate, this month's historical/cultural perspectives on all things Scottish. Now, If you are anything like me, you are very much inclined to believe that the world is somewhere in the area of 6,000-years-old. For now, and in furture things that I post, dates may come up where I might think "I don't know about that one". But anyway, let us continue.



Image taken from celtscot.ed.ac.uk


Stone Age in Ancient Scotland

Archeology is a fascinating field of study. You get to spend your life holding, for instance, a small carved stone ball up to the light while saying "What in the world did they use this for?" The two favorite words of archeologists? probably. possibly.

Archeology is a fascinating field of study. You get to spend your life holding, for instance, a small carved stone ball up to the light while saying "What in the world did they use this for?" The two favorite words of archeologists? probably. possibly.
Probably farming began to take hold in ancient Scotland around 4000 BC. Possibly the carved stone balls were used for a game. In the east, people were buried in large barrows (called cairns when made with stones). In the west, they used chambered cairns (everyone got their own spot). Later, possibly, these two cultures merged under the new technologies, greater population, and increased trade of the Bronze Age.

Archeologists do magnificent work, bringing the past to light, but must walk a fine line between assuming ancient peoples thought exactly the way we do with very similar motivations and interests, or conversely lived in a world of such deep superstition and barbarity that we should be unable to relate to their concerns and activities in any way. It's a tough task. Once in a while, archeologists are rewarded with a very well-preserved site, such as Skara Brae in the Orkneys.

Undercovered by a storm in 1850, the village of Skara Brae survived under sand for 5000 years almost completely intact. Why? Because virtually everything was made of stone - houses, beds, dressers and shelves - even wall recesses with drains beneath, suggesting indoor facilities. They had to use stone, since Orkney has few trees.

Other sites, similar to Skara Brae, suggest that the Orkney tribes were totem-based. At Cuween Hill, many dog skulls have been found, while the Ibister were people of the eagle.

These were the early years of the great henges and stone circles, though most were built during the Bronze Age, including some of the largest such as Stone Henge. What is a henge? Henges include the circles of stone, but are surrounded by a ditch, with the earth dug up and piled around the outer perimeter of the ditch, encircling and protecting the stone and timber arrangements inside.

There is a great deal of speculation about the uses of the circles. Many included altars and burials. Some seem oriented toward the sun and some toward the moon. It would seem they may have been used for a variety of purposes depending on the time, place and current culture. Popular imagination peoples the henges with druids, but the circles of stone predate the druids by many, many centuries.

From www.heartoscotland.com