Lesson 2: What does Skara Brae tell us about life in the Stone Age?

Learning objective

To use archaeological evidence to learn about the prehistoric dwellings of Skara Brae.

Success criteria

I can use evidence to make observations about Stone Age houses.
I can explain my observations.
I can explain the limitations of archaeological evidence.

National curriculum

History

The National curriculum for history aims to ensure that all pupils:

Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed

Pupils should be taught about:

Changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age.

See National curriculum - History - Key stages 1 and 2.

Cross-curricular links

English

Spoken language

Pupils should be taught to:

Develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising, imagining and exploring ideas.

See National curriculum - English - Key stages 1 and 2.

Before the lesson

Watch

Teacher video: Using archaeological sources

Watch

Teacher video: Skara Brae

Watch

Pupil video: Where did Stone Age people live?

Subject knowledge

Skara Brae

Skara Brae is a well-preserved Neolithic settlement located on the Orkney Islands, Scotland.
It was discovered in 1850 when a severe storm uncovered parts of the village, which had been buried under sand dunes for centuries.
Subsequent excavations revealed a cluster of stone-built houses, dating back to around 3200–2200 BC. This dating has been confirmed through radiocarbon analysis of organic materials found on-site, such as bones and plant remains.
The settlement consists of eight houses connected by covered passageways, each featuring a similar layout including a central hearth, stone beds and storage areas.

The significance of Skara Brae

Skara Brae has given significant historians valuable insights into Stone Age life.
The uniformity in house design suggests a well-organised community with shared cultural practices.
Artefacts found there, such as tools, pottery and jewellery, indicate advanced craftsmanship and daily activities centred around farming, fishing and animal husbandry.

Sources

Sources are what historians use to understand and interpret the past. They provide insights into societies, events and individuals from different periods of history. By examining sources, historians can build narratives, understand historical contexts and draw conclusions about how and why things happened. There are two main types of sources: primary sources and secondary sources.

Primary sources are original documents or physical objects created at the time of an event or period and provide first-hand evidence. Examples include artefacts, buildings, diaries, photographs, letters, official records and autobiographies.
Secondary sources interpret, analyse or summarise primary sources. They are created after an event or period and offer a second-hand perspective. Examples include textbooks, articles, documentaries and biographies.

Possibilities and certainties

Possibilities are informed guesses or theories developed by archaeologists and historians to explain why certain actions were taken or materials were used. For example, the choice to build with stone could have been due to its abundance in the area, its durability against harsh weather or cultural preferences for certain building materials.
Certainties are conclusions drawn from direct evidence, such as carbon dating of materials, the discovery of tools or the remains of structures. For example, it is certain that the stone houses at Skara Brae date back to the Neolithic period due to a technique called radiocarbon dating.

Within the structure, archaeologists identified a hearth and dresser using the following as evidence:

The hearth – its location in the centre of the dwelling; the remains of charred wood and ash; comparisons with other Neolithic sites.
The dresser – its shelves and compartments; artefacts found near it that would have needed housing; its prominent position opposite the entrance; comparison with similar storage structures identified in later sites.

Misconceptions

The children may think that:

‘All Stone Age communities were identical to Skara Brae’ – while Skara Brae provides a snapshot of one Neolithic community, other groups would have had different living arrangements and practices.
‘People in the Stone Ages all lived in caves and dwellings built with stone’ – evidence shows that Stone Age dwellings were constructed in different ways and with different materials depending on what was available to the people who built them.

Lesson plan

1: Recap and recall

Display the Presentation: Gimme five. In pairs, ask the children to recall five things about human history from the previous lesson.

Presentation: Gimme five

Allow time for the children to discuss, then take feedback. The children’s answers might include:

Humans have lived in Britain for over 900,000 years.
Prehistory is the period of time in human history before written records began.
BC (Before Christ) is a term historians use to date the years before Jesus was born.
AD (Anno Domini) is a term historians use to date the years after Jesus was born.
History is divided into periods, eras and ages – smaller chunks of time that are easier for historians to study and compare.
The Stone Age consisted of three periods (the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic) and was followed by the Bronze Age and the Iron Age.
The Palaeolithic period was by far the longest of the Stone Age periods.

2: Attention grabber

Watch the Pupil video: Where did Stone Age people live?

Pupil video: Where did Stone Age people live?

Questions

How does archaeology help us learn about the past? (The remains and artefacts left by people who lived long ago tell us how people lived.)
Why can we not know for certain what Stone Age shelters looked like? (The children may suggest: because there are no written records from that time; because reconstructions are based on archaeological evidence which may not be complete.)
Why did humans use caves for shelter in the Stone Age? (Suggestions might include: caves were already there, so they did not have to build anything; they were safe from wild animals; the caves would have stayed warm in the winter and cool in the summer.)
Can you name some of the different materials used to build shelters in the Stone Age? (Answers might include: wood, branches, leaves, animal bones and hides.)
Evidence shows Stone Age shelters were built in different ways in different places. Why do you think this is? (The children may suggest: different places had different materials available, like more trees or stone; the weather was different in each place, so they needed different kinds of shelters; different groups of people had different ideas and methods of building.)
How did Stone Age shelters change over time? (The children’s answers might include: earlier shelters were temporary because people moved around to find food; later ones became more permanent and were more complex.)

3: Main event

Display the Kapow Primary timeline. Scroll left to show the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic of the Stone Age.

Click on each time of the periods and read the short overviews. Reinforce that very little archaeological evidence remains from any of the Stone Age because most of the dwellings and the objects that people used were made from natural materials that have perished. An exception is the dwellings at Skara Brae which have been dated back to the Neolithic period.

Open the Presentation: Skara Brae.

Presentation: Skara Brae

Show slide 1 of the Presentation: Skara Brae. Explain that during the Neolithic period, Orkney had a limited number of trees and the environment was largely open grassland. There were some trees and wooded areas, but these were not as extensive as forests in other parts of Britain and Europe, so this could be one reason why stone was used to build houses instead of wood.

Display slide 2 of Presentation: Skara Brae to see one of the houses at Skara Brae.

Show the children the hearth in the middle of the room and ask them what they can see. Take feedback. Explain that it is a hearth, the floor of a fireplace. Explain that there is clear evidence that proves this was a hearth, and we can, therefore, say that it is a certainty that this object was a hearth.

Show the children the stone object near the hearth and ask them what they think this could be and why. Take suggestions. Explain that we cannot be certain what the object is because there is little evidence to prove what it is. We can, however, come up with an idea about what it is – a possibility.

Organise the children in pairs and hand out the Activity: Skara Brae (one between two) and the Activity: Certainties and possibilities (one each).

Ask the children to look at the objects in the Activity: Skara Brae, discuss what they could be and record their ideas on their sheets. Encourage the children to note down any questions they have about the objects in the ‘Questions’ column.

Take feedback from the whole class and ask the children to justify their ideas by explaining their reasoning.

Looking at a reconstruction of Skara Brae

Explain that archaeological evidence does not provide all the information needed to answer questions, so sometimes historians fill in the gaps, using what they know to create reconstructions. These are secondary sources because they are created after the studied event.

Use the link: Digital model of Skara Brae House 7 to explore the most complete house at Skara Brae. Point out to the children that this is a different house so the hotspot numbers do not correspond to the numbers on the Resource: Skara Brae.

Focus on the stone dresser (hotspot number three) with the children and read the information aloud. Explain it is a certainty that this is a dresser. Ask the children to consider why this might be a certainty. Take feedback.

Ask the children what might have been placed on the dresser. Take feedback from the children. Children may name objects that could be found on dressers today, but in Neolithic times, items such as ornaments and jewellery might have been kept there.

Explain that historians cannot be certain about exactly what things went on the dresser, so all these ideas are possibilities. Record these in the Possibilities column of the table. Ask if the children have any further questions about the stone dresser. Add these to the questions section of the table.

Allow the children time in their pairs to look at the possibilities and questions from the Activity: Certainties and possibilities. Decide whether any of their possibilities can now be made certainties and if any of their questions have been answered by the 3D reconstruction scan.

Questions

How can we be certain that number seven is a house? (The children may suggest: there is clear evidence such as a hearth, rooms and items like a dresser; it looks like a house because it has rooms and places that look like where people would sleep or eat.)
Can any of the possibilities you came up with now be confirmed?
Have any of your questions been answered now there is more evidence?

Take feedback. Explain that archaeologists are very important when learning about prehistory and understanding the past. Often, they discover the primary sources (objects or records created at the time of an event or period) that historians later use to further understand the past.

Taking a closer look at Skara Brae

Show the children the hearth in the middle of the room and ask them what they can see. Take feedback. Explain that it is a hearth – the floor of a fireplace. Explain that there is clear evidence that proves that this was a hearth and we can therefore say that it was a certainty that this object was a hearth.

Split your whiteboard into three columns labelled: Certainties, Possibilities and Questions and then model how you record as a certainty that the object is a hearth by writing it in the Certainties column.

Show the children the stone object near the hearth and ask them what they think this could be and why. Take suggestions. Explain that we cannot be certain what the object is because there is little to no evidence to prove what it is. Record the object in the Possibilities column.

Record any questions that the children have about the buildings in the third column.

Exploring the objects found at Skara Brae

Organise the children in pairs and hand out the Activity: Skara Brae (one between two) and the Activity: Certainties and possibilities (one each).

Instruct the children in their pairs to look at the objects in the Activity: Skara Brae, discuss what they are and record the object in the Activity: Certainties and possibilities. Encourage the children to note down any questions they have in the ‘Questions’ column.

Take feedback from the whole class and ask the children to justify their ideas by explaining their reasoning. For example, ‘I think this could be a hearth because it is in the centre of the room and would have been used to heat and cook.’

Ask the children to choose three of the items from the Activity: Certainties and possibilities and write a sentence for each, explaining what they think the object is and whether this is a certainty or a possibility, explaining their reasoning.

Looking at a reconstruction of Skara Brae

Display the 3D scan of Skara Brae created by archaeologists and historians using the link: Historic Scotland - Skara Brae 3D scan.

Explain that archaeological evidence does not give us all the information that is needed to answer questions so historians (people who study or write about the past) fill in the gaps by using what they know to create reconstructions such as this. This is a secondary source because it was created after the event.

Show the children house seven. This is the most complete house at Skara Brae and is not open to the public. Focus on the stone dresser (hotspot number three) with the children and read the information aloud. Explain it is a certainty that this is a dresser. Ask the children to consider why this might be a certainty (There is clear evidence). Take feedback.

Ask the children what goes on the dresser. Take feedback from the children. Children may name objects that could be found on dressers today but in Neolithic times, items such as ornaments and jewellery were kept there.

4: Wrapping up

Display the Presentation: High five! Ask the children to hold up a hand in the high five position.

Presentation: High five!

Take feedback as you move through the different digits.

Thumb – What have you learnt this lesson?
Index finger – What skills have you used?
Middle finger – What did you find confusing today?
Ring finger – If you learnt a new word today, what was it and what did it mean?
Little finger – What information will you try to remember for next time?

To use archaeological evidence to learn about the prehistoric dwellings of Skara Brae.

I can use evidence to make observations about Stone Age houses.
I can explain my observations.
I can explain the limitations of archaeological evidence.

archaeology
certainty
evidence
limitations
primary source
possibility
remains
secondary source
settlement
Skara Brae

Using the extended display mode will allow you to view your lesson plan on one screen, while displaying presentation mode on the other.

Follow this guide or watch our explainer video to extend your display.

Use presentation mode

Adaptive teaching

Pupils needing extra support

Could use the Knowledge organiser when recalling information in the Recap and recall; could focus on fewer objects during the Main event; could look at the digital model of Skara Brae before starting the activity.

Pupils working at greater depth

Could consider the differences between archaeological evidence explored in the Activity: Skara Brae and the 3D reconstruction of Skara Brae; should explain why the archaeological evidence discovered at Skara Brae has limitations.

Assessing progress and understanding

Pupils with secure understanding indicated by: identifying certainties and possibilities for the objects in the buildings; explaining that archaeological evidence has limitations.

Pupils working at greater depth indicated by: giving explanations to support the deductions they have made; explaining why there are limitations to what archaeological evidence can tell us about the past.

Vocabulary definitions

archaeology

Using remains to learn about the past.
certainty

Something considered true because there is clear evidence.
evidence

Information selected to support a belief or argument.
limitations

Things that stop us from doing or knowing everything we would like to.
primary source

An object or record created at the time of an event or period.
possibility

A reasonable guess about what might have happened based on limited evidence.
remains

Something that is left over after being used, destroyed or at the end of its life.
secondary source

An object or record created after an event or period.
settlement

A place where people live together as a community.
Skara Brae

A Neolithic settlement in the Orkney Islands.

We value your feedback

We welcome your feedback to help make our resources even better