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When archaeological exploration of the Ceide Fields (pronounce Kay-deh) of North Mayo, Ireland, began at the beginning of the 1990s, newspaper headlines announced that agriculture in Mayo had not changed for 5,000 years. The archaeologists had found that these stone-age people were involved in the same traditional Irish farming we are familiar with,- cattle and sheep, with some cultivation of wheat, oats and barley. (Of course, since then the horse replaced the plough-ox, and was, in turn, replaced by the tractor; there were changes in the shape and size of fields; the potato was introduced, proliferated and declined, and agriculture became specialised).
Not only is the agriculture basically the same, it is now thought that today's population of Ireland (as well as the world-wide Irish Diaspora) is descended mainly from these stone-age farmers. True, there were incursions of other peoples, the Celts, the Norsemen, the Normans, the English, etc., but these were more interested in placing themselves at the top ranks of society rather than becoming tillers of the land; they never settled in great numbers and were absorbed into the indigenous Irish population through intermarriage. (A sizeable population of Scottish people, however, settled in Northern Ireland under the Plantation of Ulster, 1609, and were the origin of the present Unionist segment of that part of the country).
The evenness of the distribution of land in the Céide Fields, and the absence of any defensive structures, have led commentators to conclude that this stone-age society was egalitarian and peaceful. However, the consistency and regularity of the fields indicate that this was a highly organised societal effort. Coupled with the fact that other sites have large monuments of similar antiquity, the Céide Fields are more like a public housing scheme than the result of spontaneous initiatives of individual settlors.
The monument of Newgrange, of similar antiquity, could only be constructed by a rich and hierarchical society, where taxes or tributes paid by the peasants supported a higher order of rulers and professionals, such as architects and engineers. The religious, rather than defensive, nature of the monuments of the period would possibly indicate the presence of a powerful priestly caste.
Newgrange is oriented towards the sun, so that at the Winter solstice, (and only at the Winter solstice), the rising sun shines down a narrow corridor into a chamber at the centre of the great mound. This indicates a high understanding of astronomy, as well as sun worship. The project was a magnificent scientific experiment that predicts the position of the sun on the horizon at the dawn of the day of its rebirth every year. This experiment is still returning a true result after 5,000 years.
The mound at Newgrange is decorated by circles and spirals (as well as losenge and other shapes, and complex arrangements of such shapes) carved into the rocks. The circle undoubtedly indicates the sun and eternity. Every year without fail the sun is renewed and the cycle of life is repeated. The repetition is not identical with previous cycles, however, as the observers of the renewed sun find themselves older each year. So life is represented by the spiral, renewing, but changing until it finally fades away.
As the Stone Age gradually evolved into the Bronze Age, the people lost interest in building large monuments. This was probably accompanied by a shift to individualism, as the population prospered in Ireland's bountiful environment of plentiful grass, trees, fish and game. The early Bronze Age has been dubbed Ireland's "First Golden Age", many hoards of gold objects dating to this period having been found.
Towards the end of the Bronze Age defensive structures begin to be found, indicating an increase in violence in society. It is speculated that a polarisation occurred between a wealthy priestly ruling class and a downtrodden subject population, giving rise to social tensions and unrest. This may, also, be the period referred to in the ancient "Book of Invasions" which describes the conquest of Ireland by the Tuatha Dé Danaan (People of the god Dana), and, later, by the Milesians (family of Míle).
Perhaps this ruling, priestly caste was the legendary tall, ginger-haired, Tuatha Dé Danaan (pronounce "Too-aha-Day-Danawn"), and the subject people the stocky, dark-haired Fir Bolg.
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