Scotland is a country within the British Isles. It lays at 56.497 degrees North and 4.

2026

degrees West. It is bordered mostly by water with a land bridge to England to its South. The

Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the Sea of Herbrides make up its remaining borders. Scotland

is an Oceanic Climate. Scotland also has 790 small islands off its coasts. They are divided into

four groups, Shetland, Orkney, Inner Herbrides and outer Herbrides (Oliver, N., 2010). The

history of this country continues to unearth itself. From climate changes to geography and

conquests, Scotland has not been an easy country to settle.

Before 12500 BC, there have been no reports or archeological findings of any proof of

life on Scotland. Scotland had been a glacial wasteland. However, around 12500 BC, the ice

began melting away creating habitable land. Scotland was under a sub-artic climate during this

time and warm summers gave the land a green tundra. Grazing animals such as mammoths,

bison and giant deer migrated from the South for food (Oliver, N., 2010). With the grounds

unfrozen during the warmer months, seeds from other lands were able to flourish. The tundra

became a forest consisting of trees such as birch, oak and pine. With the forest, came forest

animals such as polecats, birds, cattle, boar and elk (Oliver, N., 2010). The grazing animals left.

The rivers were full of fish. Predator animals such as bears, wolf and wildcats entered the

territory, and then man came (Oliver, N., 2010).

In 2005, at Howburn Farm in South Lanarkshire, the remains of a hunters and gatherers

seasonal camp was discovered dating back to 12000 BC. This would have been during the

Upper Paleolithic era or also known as the stone age. This site is the remains of the earliest

human settlement to have been found in Scotland. It was a seasonal camp site made out of stone

with a stone dresser. The cold returned and Scotland once again turned into a glacial wasteland.

The “cold snap” that set in after 10000 BC came to an end around 8000 BC (Oliver, N., 2010).
This melt formed mounds and pools leaving ground suitable only for rough grazing and for

hunting (Ferguson, P., 2014, November 19). Between seismic activity and the rise and fall of the

sea level, the geographic characteristic of Scotland was created. The “cliffs that once edged the

sea but are now far inland” (Oliver, N., 2010, p. 12). Scotland was now easier to enter than

before by sea. The land flourished once again, however, this time the open land would not be

what settlers were drawn to, it would be the water.

With Scotland being mostly bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, travel by water also plays an

important role to the settlement patterns of Scotland. “A very important almost sea motorway if

you like right up the Atlantic from northern Spain, right up the coast of France, right to Ireland

west of Wales the west of Britain up into Scandinavia” (Ferguson, P., 2014, November 19,

13:06). “The first hunting expeditions were thought to come by sea and rivers most reliable and

quickest means of transportation (Ferguson, P., 2014, November 19, 8:31)”. Rum island only

has one entrance among its geography of mountains and barren land (Oliver., N, 2010). It was

there, where the village of Kinloch now lays, archeologists found campsites, flints and stone

tools. It is believed Mesolithic people had seasonal campgrounds here in tipi like tents. They

found their material to make their flints and tools from the mountain on the island called Creag

nan Stearnan or, Bloodstone Hill and was made of “a chalcedonic silica that can be shaped and

molded” (Oliver., N, 2010, p. 14). Remanence of bands of hunter gatherers in Scotland have

been found up and down the coasts. The coastlines would provide them with shellfish and fish

from the Ocean, Sea and rivers. They could voyage inland through the means of the rivers and

lochs and would be able to hunt. Nuts such as Hazelnuts were also part of their consumption.

The first “house” was found at East Barns, where “a large, oval-shaped house build of stout

posts” (Oliver, N., 2010), was found on a lime stone quarry.

 With over 60 archeological sites, the island of Papay, has “incredibly well preserved

remains of the earliest known dwellings in Orkney and the oldest standing buildings in northern

Europe” (Okneyjar, n.d., Knap o’ Howar). Named Knap o’ Howar, the dwellings, which had

been buried under 2 meters of sand, were built by stone, side by side with a common wall and a

passage between them (Okneyjar, n.d., Knap o’ Howar). In advanced stone age technology and

dating back to 3500BC, the dwelling had stone slabs separating rooms, a stone bench, a central

hearth, footings for wooden benches, a stone quern and a variant still (Okn Okneyjar, n.d., Knap

o’ Howar). “Animal bones recovered from the site suggest the farmers kept cattle, pigs and

sheep and also grew a small amount of cereal crops” (Oliver, N., 2010, p. 25). On Bay o’ Skaill,

Skara Brae is the first “village” found after a storm in 1850 brought wind and tides which

unearthed the dwellings. They date back to 3200 BC – 2200 BC. The village was made up of 8

dwellings linked by passages (Okneyjar (n.d.), Skarabrae). The village was “built into the earth

and surrounded by midden” (Okneyjar (n.d.), Barnhouse). Skara Brae was a farming

community. was slowly abandoned. Five miles Southwest of Skara Brae, the Barnhouse

Settlement was found. It was like the village, however, the structures of the Barnhouse were

freestanding. Both sites had groove ware pottery and existed in the same time period. Around

3000 BC, the climate began to get colder and wetter and lasted until 2500 BC. At that time,

hierarchies and elites are found amongst the tombs. Such a tomb is Maes Howe which was

“constructed of enormous stones, some weighing as much as 30 tonnes but fit together without

the need for mortar” (Oliver, N., 2010, (p. 28). This great tomb was only filled with a few

people. Singular large stones and circles of stones for ritual and ceremonial reasons were

erected. “For the people tending their fields, hearding their animals, the ritual and ceremonial

places would have been a constant and unavoidable presence” (Oliver., N., 2010, p. 28). The
new found “religion” emerged from the North and the idea of them passed down to the South

(Oliver, N., 2010).

The Bronze age (3000 BC – 2001 BC) came with the creation of metal jewelry, knives

and tools. Scotland had copper as a natural resource, however, it had to travel a distance to the

Southwest tip of the British Isles and use trade to acquire it (Oliver, N., 2010). The hierarchy

showed with elites and their control of building tombs and henges as well as displaying their

jewelry and weaponry. With the bronze age, came more people claiming land. Farmers moved

into the uplands where the harder terrain and weather did not make for an easy life nor a

prosperous one. The uplands had thin soil and farms failed. With the technology of metal-

working developing changed the world once again. The Iron age from 1000 BC – 1 BC brought

to Scotland Iron swords, shields and armor. According to Oliver, N., (2010) “Networks of

commerce and trade had made possible the import not just of goods and weaponry, but also of

new ideas from far and wide” (p. 31). With this network came groups that settled across the

land. It was a land of inter-related yet autonomous tribes and clans that had local chiefs (Oliver,

N., 2010).

In 80 AD, Romans took over most of the British Isles and headed into Scotland. The

Southern tribes were less stubborn and enjoyed the lifestyle that the Romans offered. Romans

built up forts. However, the Northern tribes did not welcome the Romans. The Picts were direct

descendants from the hunter gatherers of the land and were primitive and painted. Picts lived in

dwellings on stilts above the water. They were a warrior society and used symbols and designs.

The Picts fought against the Romans and lost, however the Romans were not able to conquer any

cities because there were not any. Picts were able to pick up and move just as their ancestors. In

122 AD, the Romans constructed the Hadrian’s Wall to show the boundary. The Caledonians
were the people living North of the wall. The picts made up the North and East, the Britons the

South and the Gaels to the West.

 Works Cited

Ca. (2012, April 19). Howburn Farm: Excavating Scotland's first people. Retrieved from

https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/features/howburn-farm-excavating-scotlands-first-

people.htm

Ferguson, P. (2014, November 19). The True Story of Scotland : Documentary on the Prehistory of

Scotland (Full Documentary). Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=615&v=PGr-3CzO_Yg

Mark, J. J. (2019, September 11). Barnhouse Settlement. Retrieved from

https://www.ancient.eu/Barnhouse_Settlement/

Oliver, N. (2010). A history of Scotland. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

Orkneyjar. (n.d.). Skara Brae - The Discovery of the Village. Retrieved from

http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/skarabrae/index.html

Orkneyjar. (n.d.). The Knap o' Howar. Retrieved from

http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/knaphowar.htm