Houses and Building Settlements

In the Stone Age Ireland was covered in large forests of trees. There were no fields for animals to graze in or crops to grow. In order to build large settlements and start farms the first farmers had to cut down lots of trees.  To do this they used stone axes or sometimes they burnt the trees down.

Hunter-gatherer hut

This drawing shows the type of house or hut that the hunter-gatherers lived in. As you can see, this house is not as strongly built as a New Stone Age house. It is made from wood and is shaped like a tent. Some hunter-gatherers also used animal skins when building their temporary homes.

Courtesy of Stephanie Rowe

Hunter-gatherer hut
Courtesy of Stephanie Rowe

Hunter-gatherer hut

This drawing shows the type of house or hut that the hunter-gatherers lived in. As you can see, this house is not as strongly built as a New Stone Age house. It is made from wood and is shaped like a tent. Some hunter-gatherers also used animal skins when building their temporary homes.

Courtesy of Stephanie Rowe

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Thatched New Stone Age house

This drawing shows a house from the New Stone Age. It has walls made from mud and wood and its roof is made from thatched reeds. See the Cross-section drawing below for more detail.

Courtesy of Stephanie Rowe

Thatched New Stone Age house
Courtesy of Stephanie Rowe

Thatched New Stone Age house

This drawing shows a house from the New Stone Age. It has walls made from mud and wood and its roof is made from thatched reeds. See the Cross-section drawing below for more detail.

Courtesy of Stephanie Rowe

Enlarge image

When the first farmers had cleared enough trees they began growing crops like oats, barley and wheat. They also began rearing animals such as pigs, sheep and cattle. These people were very organised. They lived and worked together in large groups.





The people of the New Stone Age built stronger houses than the hunter-gatherers. This was because they did not need to move around like the hunter-gatherers.

Cross-section of a New Stone Age house

This drawing shows how a house from the New Stone Age was built. The outer walls were made of mud with a stone foundation at the bottom. This made the whole building very solid and strong. The mud walls were also covered with wood. This made them more waterproof. The roof was made also made from wood and was covered with a thatch made from reeds. Most houses at this time had a hole in the roof to allow smoke to escape through. This meant that the first farmers could cook their food inside their houses.

Courtesy of Stephanie Rowe

Cross-section of a New Stone Age house
Courtesy of Stephanie Rowe

Cross-section of a New Stone Age house

This drawing shows how a house from the New Stone Age was built. The outer walls were made of mud with a stone foundation at the bottom. This made the whole building very solid and strong. The mud walls were also covered with wood. This made them more waterproof. The roof was made also made from wood and was covered with a thatch made from reeds. Most houses at this time had a hole in the roof to allow smoke to escape through. This meant that the first farmers could cook their food inside their houses.

Courtesy of Stephanie Rowe

Enlarge image

We know a lot about these people because of the discoveries archaeologists have made when studying and digging up places where people lived long ago. You will learn more about this in the Archaeology section.