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| Reindeer
bone fragment from Castlepook Cave, Co Cork, Ireland. Source: RF Carden / UCD School of Archaeology |
The discovery of a reindeer bone in a Cork cave shows that there was human activity in Ireland 33,000 years ago, more than 20,000 years earlier than previously thought. The bone fragment, from a hind leg reindeer femur, was found at Castlepook Cave, near Doneraile, in north Cork, over a hundred years ago. The cave was excavated by Naturalist Richard Ussher and a team between 1904-1912. The discovery is set to dramatically alter our understanding of Irish human history.
The story of the discovery was
disclosed as part of a documentary entitled The Burren: Heart of Stone
by Lahinch based filmmaker, Katrina Costello, broadcast on RTÉ 1 recently. In
the TV programme, Dr Ruth Carden, Adjunct Research Fellow with the School of
Archaeology, UCD tells how the discovery of the ancient bone fragment left her
astounded. Narrated by Brendan Gleeson, the documentary traces the history of
the region through prehistoric times exploring rock formations, early farm
settlements and ecology.
It was not until the femur fragment was sent for analysis that scientists realised the significance of their discovery. Microscopic examination of the bone fragment revealed a series of tiny chop marks consistent with butchery using flint or stone tools.
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| Hunter-Gatherer's Camp at Irish National Heritage Park Image: Wikipedia |
Hunter-gatherers
Hunter-gatherers practiced
fishing and hunting animals and gathered nuts and berries. They mainly lived in
short-term wooden settlements, which they abandoned when local resources were
exhausted. Dr Cardin thinks it is likely that the hunter-gatherers would have
followed and lived off the migrating reindeer herds to Ireland across wide
expanses of lands and water bodies which are now under the sea, in the
North-West European region.
In 2008 Dr Carden commenced work
on a large research project involving antiquarian collections of animal
skeletal remains. The research involved 60,000 bone fragments excavated from at
least 11 limestone caves across Ireland in the late 1800s to mid-1900s.
Radiocarbon Dating
Radiocarbon dating of the femur showed it to be 33,000 years old. Up to now the earliest evidence of human activity in Ireland was a butchered bear bone found in a Co Clare cave dated to be 12,500 years old. This fascinating discovery has changed our understanding of human history in Ireland and northwest Europe. Dr Carden said:
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Fragment of Bear Bone from Cave
County Clare |
“This bone
just changed Irish human history. We have humans coming into Ireland 33,000
years ago, which changes everything for Ireland and changes north Western
Europe as a whole.”.
DNA Analysis
DNA examination of bones showed
the Irish hunter-gatherer people had dark or black skin with blue eyes and were
taller than the early farmers who replaced them. A study by researchers at the
University of Copenhagen in 2008 showed that people with blue eyes have a
single, common ancestor. Between 6,000 to 10,000 years ago, every human being
had brown eyes, but a genetic mutation caused this phenomenon to occur.
Around 6,000 years ago the next
wave of settler inhabitants arrived, with different skin profiles. Bone
fragments found in the Burren caves and megalithic tombs shows a direct link
between the hunter-gatherers and the settlers who arrived after.
“The caves
are like time capsules of discovery. In ancient times, caves were
spiritual places of ritual and sacrifice. Dr Ruth Carden’s discovery changes
Irish human history. It just blows North-Western Europe open in terms of human
movement,” Costello said.
Conclusion
The discovery that humans came
into Ireland 33,000 years ago, changes how archaeologists think about North
Western Europe during the Upper Palaeolithic period. This remarkable discovery
is set to re-write Ireland’s settlement history showing that humans were
hunting in Ireland much earlier than previously thought.
This is
particularly exciting given that experts have only recently started to
appreciate the extent of human occupation in Ireland during the Mesolithic or
Middle Stone Age (8,000 – 4,000 BC) with about twenty important sites identified
around Ireland.
For further information see:
https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/ancient-ireland-0015219
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