Neolithic Scotland

Neolithic farming brought permanent settlements to Scotland. At Balbridie in Aberdeenshire, crop markings led to the discovery of a massive timber-framed building dating to about 3600 BCE. A similar structure was found at Claish near Stirling, containing pottery evidence. On Eilean Domhnuill in Loch Olabhat, North Uist, Unstan ware pottery dated between 3200 and 2800 BCE suggests the presence of one of the earliest crannogs. Neolithic sites, particularly well-preserved in the Northern and Western Isles due to the scarcity of trees, are primarily built of local stone.

The Standing Stones of Stenness in Orkney, dating to around 3100 BCE, are part of a Neolithic landscape rich with well-preserved stone structures. The stone house at Knap of Howar on Papa Westray, Orkney, occupied from 3500 BCE to 3100 BCE, has intact stone furniture and walls standing to a low eaves height. Middens indicate the inhabitants practiced agriculture, kept livestock, and engaged in fishing and gathering shellfish. Unstan ware pottery links these inhabitants to chambered cairn tombs and sites like Balbridie and Eilean Domhnuill.

The houses at Skara Brae on Orkney's Mainland, occupied from about 3000 BCE to 2500 BCE, are similar to Knap of Howar but form a village connected by passageways. Grooved ware pottery found here is also present at the Standing Stones of Stenness, about six miles away, and throughout Britain. Nearby, Maeshowe, a passage grave dated to before 2700 BCE, and the Ring of Brodgar, an analyzed astronomical observatory, form part of a group of significant Neolithic monuments. Barnhouse Settlement, another Neolithic village, suggests these farming communities built and used these structures.

Similar to other European megalithic sites like Stonehenge and Carnac, the standing stones at Callanish on Lewis and other Scottish locations reflect a widespread Neolithic culture. Further evidence of these connections is seen at Kilmartin Glen, with its stone circles, standing stones, and rock art. Artifacts imported from Cumbria and Wales, found at Cairnpapple Hill, West Lothian, indicate extensive trade and cultural connections as early as 3500 BCE.