期刊名称：Past : The Newsletter of the Prehistoric Society
出版年度：2007
卷号：55
出版社：University College London, Institute of Archaeology
摘要：For many years, scholars of prehistory have been fascinated with the archaeology of western Scotland. This is partly due to the wealth of well-preserved sites in the area, but also partly due to its key location in the western seaways. However, recent research on the early prehistory of Britain and Ireland has highlighted how little we understand about interactions across the Irish Sea. Were people in western Scotland in contact with people in Ireland throughout prehistory? The evidence as it currently stands is rather ambiguous. In the late Mesolithic different styles of stone tools were found either side of the Irish Sea (broad blades in Ireland, narrow 憁icrolithic?technology in Britain), and this has led scholars to suggest that people were not in contact. However, we also know that people were excellent sailors and fishers in the Mesolithic, who were more than capable of crossing the Irish Sea. By the beginning of the Neolithic, there is much stronger evidence for contact between Scotland and Ireland. Antrim flint is found in Scotland, Arran pitchstone is found in Ireland, and polished stone axes were regularly crossing the Irish Sea. Shared traits between other forms of material culture also suggest connections (the 慍lyde?cairns of western Scotland share many similarities with 慶ourt?cairns in Ireland for example). However, the nature of interaction across the Irish Sea in the Neolithic is still poorly understood, and it is often modelled as sporadic and episodic. Interactions across the Irish Sea in the Bronze Age are documented with the movement of metal sources (gold and copper), but still poorly understood.
