Mesolithic Ireland

The last ice age in Ireland fully ended around 8000 BCE. Before the 2016 discovery of a Paleolithic bear bone dating to 10,500 BCE, the earliest known evidence of human occupation was from the Mesolithic period, around 7000 BCE. By this time, Ireland was likely already an island due to lower sea levels, and the first settlers arrived by boat, probably from Britain. These early inhabitants were seafarers who relied heavily on the sea and settled near water sources. Although Mesolithic people heavily depended on riverine and coastal environments, ancient DNA suggests they ceased contact with Mesolithic societies in Britain and beyond.

Evidence of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers has been found throughout Ireland. Key excavation sites include the settlement at Mount Sandel in Coleraine, County Londonderry, the cremations at Hermitage on the River Shannon in County Limerick, and the campsite at Lough Boora in County Offaly. Lithic scatters have also been noted from County Donegal in the north to County Cork in the south. The population during this period is estimated to have been around 8,000 people.

Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in Ireland lived on a varied diet that included seafood, birds, wild boar, and hazelnuts. There is no evidence of deer in the Irish Mesolithic, with red deer likely introduced during the Neolithic period. These communities used spears, arrows, and harpoons tipped with microliths and supplemented their diet with gathered nuts, fruit, and berries. They lived in seasonal shelters made by stretching animal skins or thatch over wooden frames and had outdoor hearths for cooking. The population during the Mesolithic probably never exceeded a few thousand. Artifacts from this period include small microlith blades and points, as well as larger stone tools and weapons, particularly the versatile Bann flake, which highlight their adaptive strategies in a post-glacial environment.