Editing Inner Hebrides (section)

==Prehistory==
[[File:Dun Ringill.jpg|thumb|right|The ruins of [[Dun Ringill]], near [[Elgol]] on the island of [[Skye]]]]
The Hebrides were originally settled in the [[Mesolithic|Mesolithic era]] and have a diversity of [[prehistory|prehistoric]] sites. A flint arrowhead found in a field near [[Bridgend, Islay|Bridgend]], Islay has been dated to 10,800&nbsp;BCE. This find may indicate the presence of a summer hunting party rather than permanent settlement.<ref>Moffat (2005) p. 42</ref> Burnt [[Corylus avellana|hazelnut]] shells and microscopic [[charcoal]] found at Farm Fields, [[Kinloch, Rùm|Kinloch]] on Rùm indicate a settlement of some kind and this is amongst the oldest evidence of occupation in Scotland.<ref>Edwards, Kevin J. and Whittington, Graeme "Vegetation Change" in Edwards & Ralston (2003) p. 70</ref><ref>Occupation at this site is dated to 8590+/-95 uncorrected radiocarbon years [[Before Present|BP]]. Edwards, Kevin J., and Mithen, Steven (Feb. 1995) [https://www.jstor.org/pss/124921 "The Colonization of the Hebridean Islands of Western Scotland: Evidence from the Palynological and Archaeological Records,"] ''World Archaeology''. '''26'''. No. 3 p. 348. Retrieved 20 April 2008.</ref><ref>Finlayson, Bill and Edwards, Kevin J. "The Mesolithic" in Edwards & Ralston (2003) p. 115</ref>

Evidence of large-scale [[Mesolithic]] nut processing, [[radiocarbon dating|radiocarbon dated]] to circa 7000&nbsp;BCE, has been found in a [[midden]] pit at Staosnaig on Colonsay. The dig discovered the remains of hundreds of thousands of burned hazelnut shells<ref name="Nuts1">[https://web.archive.org/web/19990218071349/http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba5/ba5news.html "Mesolithic food industry on Colonsay"] (June 1995) ''British Archaeology''. No. 5. Retrieved 25 May 2008.</ref><ref name=Moff>Moffat (2005) pp. 91–2</ref> and gives an insight into communal activity and forward planning in the period. The nuts were harvested in a single year and [[pollen analysis]] suggests that the [[hazel]] trees were all cut down at the same time.<ref name=Moff/> The scale of the activity, unparalleled elsewhere in Scotland, and the lack of large game on the island, suggests the possibility that Colonsay contained a community with a largely vegetarian diet for the time they spent on the island.<ref name="Nuts1"/>

Three stone [[hearth]]s and traces of red [[ochre]] found on Jura and dated to 6000&nbsp;BCE are the earliest stone-built structures found so far in Scotland.<ref>Moffat (2005) pp. 90–91.</ref><ref>Mercer, John (1972) "Microlithic and Bronze Age camps, 75–26 ft OD, N Carn, Jura". ''Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland''.</ref> However, in general the [[Neolithic]] sites in the Inner Hebrides lack the scale and drama of those found in Orkney and the Western Isles.{{refn| See for example [[Cladh Hallan]] and the impressive ruins of the [[Callanish Stones]] and [[Skara Brae]].|group=Note}} There are numerous [[Iron Age]] sites including the remains of [[Dun Ringill]] fort on Skye, which are similar in layout to that of both a [[broch]] and a complex [[Atlantic roundhouse]].<ref>[https://archive.today/20120805152312/http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/pls/portal/newcanmore.details_gis?inumlink=11431 "Skye, Dun Ringill"] RCAHMS. Retrieved 22 June 2008.</ref>