Organisation : | Waterford County Museum |
Article Title : | Waterford Geology and Prehistoric Dungarvan |
Page Title : | Introduction |
Page Number : | 1 |
Publication Date : | 20 May 2013 |
Expiry Date : | Never Expires |
Category : | Dungarvan |
URL : | https://www.waterfordmuseum.ie/exhibit/web?task=Display&art_id=362&pagenum=1&lang=en |
![]() The stone age is generally divided into 3 parts.
Paleolithic In the last interglacial period, i.e. between the last and second last Ice Ages the area of Co. Waterford had a climate which was suitable for the survival of Paleolithic people who depended solely on food gathering, but as yet no hard evidence has emerged that man did in fact occupy the area. Elsewhere on the European mainland evidence of men lived solely by hunting and fishing and gathering wild fruits, nuts, and berries is plentiful. As the environment was Arctic in nature, the land supported such animals as the great Irish deer with its huge antlers, mammoth, bears, foxes, etc.. Remains of these animals were discovered at Shandon Caves to the north of Dungarvan town in 1859. The limestone valley between Dungarvan and Cappoquin had a series of caves such as those at Shandon, Kilgreany and Ballinamintra which were an immediate source of shelter from the elements.
Due to changes in the surface of Ireland, early shoreline deposits are from more easily in the north of the country revealing evidence of Mesolithic man. It was thought because the earlier shoreline had been buried beneath the sea in the southern coast of Ireland that no evidence of Mesolithic man had survived. Flint being the best raw material for stone tools and being widely available in northern Ireland, it was felt that the Mesolithic people would not be encouraged to set up settlements in southern Ireland where flint is scarce. Most of the archaeological material from this period has been found in northern Ireland. However, in recent years evidence of Mesolithic man is being discovered in the Munster area. Recent investigations in the Blackwater valley and the Waterford harbour areas have uncovered numerous finds of flint flakes which indicates the presence of Mesolicthic man in the area. Neolithic This period is often referred to as the Neolithic Revolution. The revolutionary change in man's lifestyle was the transition from a hunting/ food gathering economic system of the Paleolithic/Mesolithic cultures to the food producing economy of the Neolithic period.
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