Did Tombs Affect The Dynamics Of Society During The Chalcolithic Period?

This paper discusses wedge tombs and the dynamics of societies during the Chalcolithic period. The Chalcolithic (also known as ‘Copper age’) occurred in Ireland between c. 2500-2000 and marks the transition period at the end of the Neolithic which spanned the second half of the 3rd millennium. There are three stages to the Chalcolithic; The Early, Middle and Late stage. Early Chalcolithic dates 2500-1400 BC, Middle Chalcolithic dates 2400-210 BC and the Late Chalcolithic dates 2160-2000 BC (O’ Brien, 2012). The Chalcolithic is characterized by the use of metals, as Ireland was a significant metal producing region during the second half of the 3rd millennium, with copper and gold production being increasingly successful. The Chalcolithic period

Following on from the Neolithic period came the Bronze Age, dating from 2500-600 BC, stone was being replaced with bronze and copper, wedge tombs and standing stones are associated with this period. The wedge tombs were the fourth type of megalithic tombs to appear in Ireland’s landscape and were constructed between the late Neolithic and middle Bronze Ages (about 2500 to 2000BC). They are the most common Megalithic Tomb, with over 540 recorded in Ireland, representing almost one third of megalithic tombs in total. Few settlements have been identified for the Chalcolithic period, making it difficult to infer the societies and their activities and information on how they constructed and used these wedge tombs, but we can infer much information from wedge tombs alone. Wedge tombs were constructed and distributed on available terrain and their locations depended on available resources uneven distribution patterns of wedge tombs indicate that the communities were unevenly

There was an increase in maritime and riverine interaction and mobility around the Atlantic and southern-North Sea regions at this time, which appears to be associated with the spread of the Beaker phenomenon and the development and spread of metallurgy. Many other material uses were occurring in different parts of the world at this time. The Beaker period possibly overlapped with the final use of Groved Ware c. 2500-2400BC, and also with Bowl Food Vessels c. 2150-2400 BC (Jones, 1998). Beaker pottery use declined around 2150-2000 BC with the introduction of new ceramic traditions that marked the development of the Bronze Age. Copper was being used first in Iberia, then in France, but soon made its way to south-west Ireland during c. 2500- 2400 BC indicating human mobility, trade and communication among countries. There was a widespread production of copper objects and gold work on a technological par with contemporary metal working in Europe. This transition period ended around 2150-2000 BC with a slow introduction of metallurgy. The next four centuries witnessed the production and use of unalloyed copper on a significant scale, prior to the adoption of tin-bronze after 2000BC (Jones, 1998). The discovery of a major source of copper at Ross Island, Co. Kerry made this succession possible. There are around 150 wedge tombs found in county Clare with over seventy of them present in