STONE AGE 

 For the first 5000 years after their
arrival in Ireland, the inhabitants used
tools and weapons made from stone,
wood and bone. 

 The earliest settlers came to an island covered with trees (pine, birch, hazel and willow)

There was an abundance of wild animals for
food, and from archaeological excavations,
we know that they lived almost entirely by hunting. Their "houses" would have been
something like that above (based on a site excavated in Mount Sandel in Co. Down).
They were made of sods, timber and skins. Their clothes were probably of animal hides.
There is evidence to suggest that they spread widely throughout the country.
Farming began in Ireland about 4,000 BC,
and for the first time the inhabitants were
not solely dependant on hunting for their food. 
They used polished stone axes to clear
areas of trees, to prepare them for grazing
and for crops. 
They used the timber to build houses and
fences to prevent their animals from predators such as wolves. 
Their houses were made of timber, and
insulated with clay (wattle and daub).

They had no chimney, and so were smoky, and dark.

The picture above shows a farmhouse on the left, and a shelter for animals on the
right. Their field is in the foreground.

It is based on a type of dwelling found at Lough Gur in County Limerick.
The construction of Portal Tombs
(Dolmens), such as the one on the right,
during the Neolithic period, points to a
prosperous society with a hierarchical
structure. 
These tombs would not have been intended
for ordinary people. 
There have been 160 portal tombs found in
Ireland, and they also occur in Western
Britain. Portal tombs usually face East, are
often uphill and near water.
It appears that the people may have been
dead for many years before being put in the tomb.