Orkney

[[File:RingofBrodgarJM.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Four large standing stones sit in a field of grass and heather. They are illuminated by reddish sunlight and they cast long shadows to the left. A lake and low hills lie beyond.|[[Ring of Brodgar]], on the island of [[Mainland, Orkney]]]]

[[File:RingofBrodgarJM.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Four large standing stones sit in a field of grass and heather. They are illuminated by reddish sunlight and they cast long shadows to the left. A lake and low hills lie beyond.|[[Ring of Brodgar]], on the island of [[Mainland, Orkney]]]]

[[Upper Paleolithic|Upper Palaeolithic]] stone tools of the [[Ahrensburgian]] culture have been found in Stronsay and Brodgar on mainland Orkney, suggesting the islands have been inhabited around or prior to 8000 BC.{{Cite journal |last=Hardy |first=Karen |last2=Barlow |first2=Natasha L.M. |last3=Taylor |first3=Edward |last4=Bradley |first4=Sarah L. |last5=McCarthy |first5=John |last6=Rush |first6=Graham |date=July 2025 |title=At the far end of everything: A likely Ahrensburgian presence in the far north of the Isle of Skye, Scotland |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jqs.3718 |journal=Journal of Quaternary Science |language=en |volume=40 |issue=5 |pages=847–861 |doi=10.1002/jqs.3718 |issn=0267-8179|doi-access=free }}

Late [[Upper Paleolithic|Upper Palaeolithic]] stone tools of the [[Ahrensburgian]] culture have been found in Stronsay and Brodgar on mainland Orkney, suggesting the islands have been inhabited around or prior to 8000 BC.{{Cite journal |last=Hardy |first=Karen |last2=Barlow |first2=Natasha L.M. |last3=Taylor |first3=Edward |last4=Bradley |first4=Sarah L. |last5=McCarthy |first5=John |last6=Rush |first6=Graham |date=July 2025 |title=At the far end of everything: A likely Ahrensburgian presence in the far north of the Isle of Skye, Scotland |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jqs.3718 |journal=Journal of Quaternary Science |language=en |volume=40 |issue=5 |pages=847–861 |doi=10.1002/jqs.3718 |issn=0267-8179|doi-access=free }}

A charred [[hazelnut]] shell, recovered in 2007 during excavations in [[Tankerness]] on the Mainland, has been dated to 6820–6660 BC, indicating the presence of Mesolithic nomadic tribes.[http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/002600.html "Hazelnut shell pushes back date of Orcadian site"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316143444/http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/002600.html |date=16 March 2008 }} (3 November 2007) Stone Pages Archaeo News. Retrieved 6 September 2009. The earliest known permanent settlement is at [[Knap of Howar]], a Neolithic farmstead on the island of [[Papa Westray]], which dates from 3500 BC. The village of [[Skara Brae]], Europe's best-preserved Neolithic settlement, is believed to have been inhabited from around 3100 BC.[http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/places/propertyresults/propertyabout.htm?PropID=PL_244&PropName=Skara%20Brae%20Prehistoric%20Village "Skara Brae Prehistoric Village" ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505130755/http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/places/propertyresults/propertyabout.htm?PropID=PL_244&PropName=Skara%20Brae%20Prehistoric%20Village |date=5 May 2016 }} Historic Scotland. Retrieved 3 February 2010. Other remains from that era include the [[Standing Stones of Stenness]], the [[Maeshowe]] [[passage grave]], the [[Ring of Brodgar]] and other standing stones. Many of the Neolithic settlements were abandoned around 2500 BC, possibly due to changes in the climate.Moffat (2005) p. 154.[http://www.worldtimelines.org.uk/world/british_isles/scotland/2200-800BC "Scotland: 2200–800 BC Bronze Age"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203063651/http://worldtimelines.org.uk/world/british_isles/scotland/2200-800BC |date=3 December 2010 }} worldtimelines.org.uk Retrieved 23 August 2008.Ritchie, Graham "The Early Peoples" in Omand (2003) pp. 32, 34.

A charred [[hazelnut]] shell, recovered in 2007 during excavations in [[Tankerness]] on the Mainland, has been dated to 6820–6660 BC, indicating the presence of Mesolithic nomadic tribes.[http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/002600.html "Hazelnut shell pushes back date of Orcadian site"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316143444/http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/002600.html |date=16 March 2008 }} (3 November 2007) Stone Pages Archaeo News. Retrieved 6 September 2009. The earliest known permanent settlement is at [[Knap of Howar]], a Neolithic farmstead on the island of [[Papa Westray]], which dates from 3500 BC. The village of [[Skara Brae]], Europe's best-preserved Neolithic settlement, is believed to have been inhabited from around 3100 BC.[http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/places/propertyresults/propertyabout.htm?PropID=PL_244&PropName=Skara%20Brae%20Prehistoric%20Village "Skara Brae Prehistoric Village" ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505130755/http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/places/propertyresults/propertyabout.htm?PropID=PL_244&PropName=Skara%20Brae%20Prehistoric%20Village |date=5 May 2016 }} Historic Scotland. Retrieved 3 February 2010. Other remains from that era include the [[Standing Stones of Stenness]], the [[Maeshowe]] [[passage grave]], the [[Ring of Brodgar]] and other standing stones. Many of the Neolithic settlements were abandoned around 2500 BC, possibly due to changes in the climate.Moffat (2005) p. 154.[http://www.worldtimelines.org.uk/world/british_isles/scotland/2200-800BC "Scotland: 2200–800 BC Bronze Age"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203063651/http://worldtimelines.org.uk/world/british_isles/scotland/2200-800BC |date=3 December 2010 }} worldtimelines.org.uk Retrieved 23 August 2008.Ritchie, Graham "The Early Peoples" in Omand (2003) pp. 32, 34.