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Skara Brae Stone Age

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Skara Brae Stone Age

Read the evidence cards, then solve the archaeologist’s challenge. Use details from the cards to support your answers.

Evidence cards

A. Skara Brae is on the Orkney Islands, off the north coast of Scotland. People lived there about 5,000 years ago, in the later Stone Age. B. The houses were built from local stone. They had a central hearth, stone beds and a stone dresser. Low covered passageways linked some houses. C. People ate crops such as barley, as well as fish, shellfish and animals. They used stone and bone tools. D. A layer of sand helped cover and protect the abandoned settlement. It was uncovered after a storm in 1850. Archaeologists study the houses and objects to learn about daily life.

Investigate the evidence

1.Where was Skara Brae? Choose the most precise answer.

On the Orkney Islands, off Scotland
In southern England
On the Isle of Wight
In the Welsh mountains

2.About how long ago did people live at Skara Brae?

500 years ago
1,000 years ago
5,000 years ago
10,000 years ago

3.Which two details are evidence that the houses were designed for everyday family life? Select two.

A central hearth
Stone beds
A railway platform
Glass windows

4.Match each object or feature to what it suggests about life in the village.

Central hearth
Stone beds
Barley
Covered passageway

A crop people could eat
Cooking and warmth
A sheltered way to move between houses
A place to sleep

5.Complete the sentence using Evidence card C: People at Skara Brae got food from crops, the sea and .

6.A storm uncovered Skara Brae in 1850. True or false?

7.Why might stone have been a useful building material on Orkney? Give one reasonable explanation using the evidence.

8.The village was covered by sand after it was abandoned. Explain how being buried could help preserve evidence for archaeologists.

9.Archaeologists find barley seeds, fish bones and a stone hearth in a house. What can they infer about how people lived there? Give two supported ideas.

10.Choose one question you would investigate about Skara Brae. Explain what object or evidence you would look for and how it might help answer your question.