Prehistory is used to describe the time period before history was written down. The people who lived at that time could not read or write. An example of prehistoric people are the Stone Age people. In prehistoric times, there were no written records so everything we know about prehistoric people has to be worked out from the things they left behind, for example, their tools, homes, monuments and graves.
Carved standing stone
Carved standing stone, Co. Kerry
Courtesy of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local GovernmentCarved standing stone
Courtesy of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Courtesy of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Carved standing stone
Carved standing stone, Co. Kerry
Courtesy of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local GovernmentHere you can see some monuments from prehistoric times.
The first monument is Newgrange in Co. Meath. It is a sacred site which was built by Stone Age people in Ireland about 5,000 years ago.