Dealing with time periods that trace back thousands and hundreds of thousands of years can be difficult to handle because of the range of dating systems used such as BC, AD, CE etc. For this blog dates will be recorded as BP – before present. This is to avoid conflicting terminology and confusion.
Simplistic timelines for early Irish human occupation up to the historic period are:
Mesolithic (Hunter Gatherers) 10,000 – 6,000 Before Present
Neolithic (Farming) 6,000 – 4,500 BP
Copper and Bronze Age 4,500 – 2,500 BP
Iron Age 2,500 BP – 400 AD
What mechanisms are there for identifying dates that trace back into the distant past? A number of research mechanisms are used. Firstly, land base studies include Greenland ice analysis, then lake sediment analysis and lastly radiocarbon dating. Newer research methods include undersea marine geological data which would include marine landforms and sediment cores. It is not possible to extract dates from stone tools/weapons unless there are associated artefacts that can be radiocarbon dated.
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