Book(s) recommendations please ?

Mountainsandh

I'm not in a great spot for bookshops, so I have to order a lot from Amazon or Ebay, and need titles and/or authors (rather than just being able to pick and choose from shelf !).

I have just read this book by a botanist about The Landscape of Ireland, that was great, really accessible to someone like myself who wants to learn from the start so to speak. (the one that was featured on RTE radio once on Mooney's I think).

Now I would like to read about Mesolithic Ireland.
Any suggestions ?

I have seen one or two titles that looked very good on Amazon, but they're very expensive and hard to find it seems (one is 75 euros !).

I'd love to find something that touches on any place in Ireland, as opposed to a specific area.

thanks in advance !

slowburner

Frank Mitchell's Reading the Irish Landscape might suit you as general introduction to identifying features and distinguishing natural from man made (if it's not the one you've already read).
The seminal work is Peter Woodman's The Mesolithic in Ireland

jimmyarch

Great to see some interest in Mesolithic Ireland.

Peter Woodman's 'The Mesolithic in Ireland is the only book focused on Mesolithic Ireland solely and is a good starting point. Given that it is a 1978 publication it is largely dated in nature due to the extensive work undetaken since then.

For more recent work I would suggest:

Chantal Conneller & Graeme Warren's co-edited volume 'Mesolithic Britain and Ireland: New Approaches'.

Nicky Milner and Peter Woodman's co-edited volume 'Mesolithic Studies at the beginning of the 21st Century'.

For broader context:

Geoff Bailey & Penny Spikin's co-edited volume 'Mesolithic Europe' is very good.

I you are feeling like parting with lots of cash try:

'Mesolithic Horizons'.

These are but a start, luckily there are lots of recent Mesolithic publications, happy reading!!

Mountainsandh

jimmyarch wrote: »

Great to see some interest in Mesolithic Ireland.

My interest in Mesolithic is only a decoy for my lack of interest in clans/battles/political later Irish history .

New Approaches and Reading the Irish Landscape both seem like exactly my type of books, can't wait to get my hands on them. Going on holidays in West of Ireland from tomorrow, so I'll keep an eye out for them in more touristy shops in the West, I find that touristy/tourist office book sections are always brilliant for books on Ireland, found my first Kevin Danaher books from tourist offices around Ireland.

I can always get them on Amazon if I don't come across them.

This is the one that I was looking at that's £76 !

A History of Settlement in Ireland by Terry Barry (18 Nov 1999)

Will probably move on to European perspective later, when I move on to learn about the celts.

Thankfully I got myself 5 little Shire Archeology books from Amazon last week to have for the holidays, some on the Megaliths of Ireland, one on Stone Circles of Ireland, and some on early and later celtic art, no harm in looking at them either...

I'm really interested in the start of agriculture, deforestation, mining...man's interaction with the environment, so if you think of anything else, any titles I'll take note of for later !
Thanks

slowburner

Mountainsandh wrote: »

I'm really interested in the start of agriculture, deforestation, mining...man's interaction with the environment, so if you think of anything else, any titles I'll take note of for later !
Thanks

The start of agriculture and deforestation is the Neolithic period really. Which is good for you, because more Neolithic archaeology survives.

Early mining is a subject close to my heart - I live in Avoca, and area which has been mined extensively for all sorts of minerals over the millenia.
There has certainly been a lot of work done on mining in Ireland in the Bronze age (William O'Brien, UCC, is the authority on the subject).
Early mining is nearly always connected with the extraction of metals, mostly copper for the manufacture of Bronze.
So it is doubtful that there was any mining in Ireland in the Mesolithic.

Early mining is not a subject which you could call 'light reading', I don't think I've come across any aspect of archaeology with a more difficult terminology especially the geological stuff.

Copper mining was a feature in your neck of the woods too
http://www.coppercoastgeopark.com/index.htm

slowburner

Mountainsandh wrote: »

My interest in Mesolithic is only a decoy for my lack of interest in clans/battles/political later Irish history .

I know what you mean.
My own interest started when I heard of lost burials from 1798 in this locality.
I never found them, but I found some much more interesting stuff along the way.
:pac:

Mountainsandh

Thanks for all that info Slowburner.
I don't intend to dig too far down any one road (;)) really, purely learning about these things for pleasure.

Yes about the copper coast, it's an interesting spot around our parts, and I would love to know a bit more about that.
I know what you mean about the terminology, I think I found a stone with a bit of gold (:eek: gold rush, yeahhhhhhh) during a walk, and wanted to find out about the geology of the area, so went onto this site that lists geological features of Ireland and mining areas, but it was very hard to figure out what I was really looking at on the maps, it was all too technical for me. As I said this is all for fun really so whenever I hit a bit I don't understand_after a good look, I generally just pass over it onto the next thing.

Because I'm really just learning bits and pieces at my whim, my notion of timelines and proper denominations for "ages" and "things" is all a bit... approximate really

slowburner

Mountainsandh wrote: »

Thanks for all that info Slowburner.
I don't intend to dig too far down any one road (;)) really, purely learning about these things for pleasure.

Yes about the copper coast, it's an interesting spot around our parts, and I would love to know a bit more about that.
I know what you mean about the terminology, I think I found a stone with a bit of gold (:eek: gold rush, yeahhhhhhh) during a walk, and wanted to find out about the geology of the area, so went onto this site that lists geological features of Ireland and mining areas, but it was very hard to figure out what I was really looking at on the maps, it was all too technical for me. As I said this is all for fun really so whenever I hit a bit I don't understand_after a good look, I generally just pass over it onto the next thing.


Because I'm really just learning bits and pieces at my whim, my notion of timelines and proper denominations for "ages" and "things" is all a bit... approximate really

Chances are the gold stuff is Pyrites or 'fool's gold'. It's common enough.

Mountainsandh

Dammit.

slowburner

Mountainsandh wrote: »

Dammit.

Of course, I could be wrong.

Gee Bag

Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape is by far the best general introduction to landscape stuff.

I'd avoid anything too specific on the Mesolithic, it can be quite technical (and dull). For a general introduction to Irish prehistory you can't go too far wrong with The Prehistoric Archaeology of Ireland By John Waddell.

Sligo22

Chantal Conneller & Graeme Warren, Mesolithic Britain and Ireland: New Approaches is a very good book indeed and is only about 15 pounds on amazon!!

Mountainsandh

I have to say thanks Slowburner and every one, I am well started on Reading the Irish Landscape and loving it. The geology bits are sometimes hard to follow, but really interesting, and I'm beginning "the end of the Ice Age" and learning about the giant deer right now. Only reading a page or two every night, but might be able to read a bit more soon on holidays, so planning on also getting another one for this summer. I'll see what's easy to get on Amazon currently. It's great to have other titles to watch out for.

Sools

I can't help on this but interested myself so keep the books coming

Mountainsandh

Sools I can share the ones I have already if it's any good to you, apart from the more recently acquired Reading the Irish Landscape.
The Making of Ireland's Landscape Since the Ice Age, from Valerie Hall, Collinspress.
That's really good, especially so if you're interested in botany, since it's mostly dealing with pollen analysis. But it's very readable, you don't have to be a specialist to understand it.
I have Monu-Mental about Prehistoric Waterford, since it is my area, by Tom Fourwinds, with Nonsuch Publishing. I think there is a series of Monu-Mentals, not sure it covers the whole lot of Ireland, but I'm nearly sure I saw other counties available.
I also have Michael Ryan's Irish Archeology Illustrated, the 2006 edition but it's available in older editions too online. I love this, there is a collection of essays from different people at the start, when I say essays, they're really just easy to read snippets of information about different eras, or different prehistoric techniques, great illustrations of prehistoric dwellings, implements, art, etc...
Also there are Government publications here, I have the inventory for Co Waterford. I think they intended to do all counties, but I have been waiting for the South Tipp one since... the publication of the Waterford one, so that's a good few years ago. (1999 !:eek:) Now I think of it (and have discovered them), I could check if there's a Monu-Mental one for Tipp South.

edit : just thought also, for general history there is the Michelin guides, you know the long green ones ? They're great as a starting point sometimes, to further research a town/village. I have the French one about Ireland, since I'm French it was easy to get it, but I'm sure online you could get an English version intended for English speaking tourists to Ireland. The Michelins are great for information on churches, town walls, etc...

Mountainsandh

Haven't finished reading "Reading the Irish Landscape" (it slipped down into the boot of the camper and haven't dug out for it since, campervanners would understand )...

... but I was reading about the excavations outside Waterford during the building of the N25 in the meantime. But that's a bit dense for me, so I got myself a new, easy to read (by the looks of it) little book, about mesolithic man in Scotland :
Wild harvesters by Bill Finlayson.

Designed throughout with colourful and detailed illustrations, Wild Harvesters outlines in a clear and understandable way the Mesolithic Age in Scotland. It contains in-depth features on important discoveries and Mesolithic phenomenon and emphasises that Scotland's first inhabitants were not ignorant savages but ordinary people trying to live as best they could in their landscape. Included in the book are specially commissioned illustrations which show how these people may have lived, as well as an assessment of the archaeological theories current today. This book is part of a newly updated edition of the acclaimed Making of Scotland series produced by Historic Scotland and Birlinn which provides lively, accessible and up-to-date introductions to key themes and periods in Scottish history and prehistory.

I'll give my own very subjective review on here when I'm done with it , in case there's others interested.
I figured a lot of what is known about the mesolithic in Scotland must be applicable to the elusive mesolithic families of Ireland.

Coles

Mountainsandh wrote: »

Haven't finished reading "Reading the Irish Landscape"...

Brilliant book.

Mountainsandh

Totally. I went as far as the end of the Ice Age, had to re-read a good bit the chapters on geology, I like to try and digest as much as possible before moving on, but at the same time reading for pleasure, so no time pressure for me.
I did take sneak peeks at bits further into the book. :P

I must really go and fish it out of the boot, but it's full of loungers, barbecue, camping table and benches, and buoyancy aids...
You know it's like when you have to take down the Christmas tree, one of these jobs you really want done, but also really don't want to be doing.

Mountainsandh

Have only started the other book about mesolithic, but I already got an interesting nugget of info : on sea shells middens they also found fish bones, and were able to determine the age of the fish from the size of the fishbones, and by analyzing that particular fish breeding/feeding habits, gain information about what season mesolithic men might have decided to move on to a particular spot. There's more on it, but I was too sleepy so to be continued.

Mountainsandh

Well just to update, I've already finished Wild Harvesters, and I only read a few pages at bedtime. It's lovely, nice photos and illustrations, easy to read, but it's more like an essay than a book really. 64 pages, and some practically all taken up by large illustrations. Some nice little bits of information, some nice comparisons with other mesolithic people.