This timeline of prehistoric Scotland is a chronologically ordered list of important archaeological sites in Scotland and of major events affecting Scotland's human inhabitants and culture during the prehistoric period. The period of prehistory prior to occupation by the genus Homo is part of the geology of Scotland. Prehistory in Scotland ends with the arrival of the Romans in southern Scotland in the 1st century AD and the beginning of written records.. Petilius Cerilais first led the legions into Scotland between AD 71 and 74. Large parts of Scotland were never held by Rome and Moffat states: "The Romans left us nothing of any enduring cultural value. Their presence was brief, intermittent and not influential." The archaeological sites and events listed are the earliest examples or among the most notable of their type.

No traces have yet been found of either a Neanderthal presence or of Homo sapiens during the Pleistocene interglacials, the first indications of humans in Scotland occurring only after the ice retreated in the 11th millennium BC. Since that time, the landscape of Scotland has been altered dramatically by both human and natural forces.Edwards, Kevin J and Ralston, Ian B.M. "Environment and People in Prehistoric and Early Historical Times: Preliminary Considerations" in . Initially, sea levels were lower than at present due to the large volume of ice that remained. This meant that the Orkney archipelago and many of the Inner Hebridean islands were attached to the mainland, as was the present-day island of Great Britain to Continental Europe. Much of the present-day North Sea was also dry land until after 4000 BC. Dogger Bank, for example was part of a large peninsula connected to the European continent. This would have made travel to western and northern Scotland relatively easy for early human settlers. The subsequent isostatic rise of land makes estimating post-glacial coastlines a complex task and there are numerous raised beaches around Scotland's coastline...

Many of the sites are located in the Highlands and Islands. This may be because of the relatively sparse modern populations and consequent lack of disturbance. Much of the area also has a thick covering of peat that preserves stone fragments, although the associated acidic conditions tend to dissolve organic materials.Peat forms when plant material is inhibited from decaying fully by acidic and anaerobic conditions, often in waterlogged conditions. Much of Scotland's soil cover is either peat, or acidic or both. This results in a lack of finds of bone, jewellery and other household items. See for example ; ; and There are also numerous important remains in the Orkney archipelago, where sand and arable land predominate.. Local tradition hints at both a fear and veneration of these ancient structures that may have helped to preserve their integrity..

Differentiating the various periods of human history involved is a complex task. The Paleolithic lasted until the retreat of the ice, the Mesolithic until the adoption of farming and the Neolithic until metalworking commenced.Scottish Archaeological Research Framework (ScARF) 2020. ScARF National Framework. Accessed April 2022. These events may have begun at different times in different parts of the country. A number of the sites span very long periods of time and in particular, the distinctions between the Neolithic and the later periods are not clear cut.Moffat (2005) p. 147.

Timeline Key to predominant "Type": Letter Type Description (B) Bone Human or animal material including bone, teeth and shells examined using zooarchaeological techniques. (E) Environmental Natural occurrences including geological and climatic events. (F) Building foundations Disturbed ground, timber remains or worked stone. (M) Metal Metals worked by humans into tools, jewellery etc. (O) Organic material Biofacts – the dead material of once-living organisms. (P) Pottery Usually shards of broken pot – complete artefacts only rarely. (S) StoneStone tools, stone used as a building material, standing stones, or natural stone features.

Citations in the Type box refer to the information in the entire row.

Palaeolithic The whole of Scotland was covered in ice sheets during the coldest periods of the Quaternary glaciationMcKirdy et al. (2007) pp. 163, 179 and most of Scotland remained glaciated when the cave paintings of Lascaux in France were created, c. 14,000 BC.Gillen (2003) p. 174. Small areas of the north east may have remained ice-free, although there is no suggestion they were populated. See Merritt, J.W. et al.. (2003) Cainozoic geology and landscape evolution of north east Scotland. British Geological Survey. Edinburgh. Humans began to populate Scotland during the current Flandrian interglacial but settlement began much later than in southern Europe due to the adverse climatic conditions further north. So far, a single site has produced the only definite evidence of Upper Paleolithic human habitation in Scotland. Date (BC) Location Details Type 12,000 Biggar Flint artefacts found at Howburn Farm, near Elsrickle in 2005 but not dated until 2009. (S)Haworth, Jenny (10 April 2009) "Scotland's most ancient home found – at 14,000 years old"The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 24 June 2009. "Earliest site in Scotland discovered" . Biggar Archaeology Group. Retrieved 13 March 2011. c. 10,000 Islay Stone implements of the Ahrensburgian culture found at Rubha Port an t-Seilich near Port Askaig by foraging pigs in 2015 near a Mesolithic site. Probably a summer camp used by hunters travelling round the coast in boats. (S)Kennedy, Maev (9 October 2015) "Swine team: pigs help uncover ice age tools on Scottish island" The Guardian. London. Retrieved 11 October 2015."Ice Age tools found on Islay thanks to herd of pigs". (9 October 2015) BBC News Retrieved 11 October 2015.

Mesolithic

The Mesolithic period in Scotland is characterised by rich assemblages of lithic artefacts that indicate the presence of hunter-gatherer communities, most commonly identified by a narrow blade technology and its characteristic microliths. Most common raw material is flint beach pebbles, however, a variety of other types of geology, usually from local sources, is represented. Although stone tools and their production waste represent the vast majority of archaeological evidence form this period, Mesolithic material culture would have been dominated by organic materials (plant and animal materials) that require anaerobic preservation conditions to prevent decomposition (i.e. permafrost, peat bogs, etc.). Organic artefacts cannot survive in acidic soils of Scotland. However, Mesolithic bone artefacts have been found, surviving due to favourable preservation conditions – most are associated with the Obanian tradition. Other common organic finds are shell middens, including mollusc and fish bones, and charred remains, including hearths and hazelnut shells that can provide radiocarbon dates. Most prolific Mesolithic sites are discovered in coastal landscapes, however, this may be a result of research and recovery bias. No Mesolithic burial sites have been uncovered in Scotland to date.Finlayson, Bill and Edwards, Kevin J. "The Mesolithic" in Edwards & Ralston (2003) pp. 122–23. However, human remains have been discovered in the Oronsay middens. Additionally, a handful of Mesolithic dwelling sites have been discovered. Date (BC) Location Details Type 10,800 Islay A flint arrowhead that was found in a field near Bridgend. This may relate to the end of the Allerød, a relatively warm period that lasted from c. 12,000 to 11,000 BC. This is the only find in Scotland to date from this early part of the Mesolithic. (S)Moffat (2005) p. 42. The author interprets the find as an indication of the presence of a summer hunting party rather than a permanent settlement. This part of Islay may have remained ice free at a time when almost all of Scotland was still in the ice age's grip.Murray (1973) p. 67.11,000–9640 Scotland-wideThe Loch Lomond Stadial cold period. No evidence has been found yet of human activity in Scotland during this time.That is, no evidence other than the Islay arrowhead possibility dated to 10,800 BC, assumed to relate to the Allerød. The dates are subject to significant margins of error.(E) 8500 Cramond The remains of a temporary camp that has provided more than 3,000 artefacts, including about 300 stone tools and fragments. (O, S)"Cramond" RCAHMS. Retrieved 21 August 2008."Earliest evidence found of settlers in Scotland: hazelnuts and stone tools excavated near Edinburgh date to around 8500 BC" British Archaeology. Retrieved 21 April 2008. 8240 South Queensferry The outline of Scotland's "oldest house" is an oval about across discovered in 2012. It was probably occupied during the winter months. (O, F, S)Gray, Rebecca (18 Nov 2012) "Bridge works uncover nation's oldest house" The Herald. Retrieved 19 November 2012. 8000 Aberdeenshire Possibly the world's oldest calendar, discovered at Warren Field in 2004 from aerial photographs. F)"Discovering the Invention of Time?" (18 November 2019) RCAHMS. Retrieved 16 July 2013. 7700–7500 Rùm Burnt hazelnut shells and microscopic charcoal found at Farm Fields, Kinloch indicate a settlement of some kind. This was considered to be the oldest evidence of occupation in Scotland until the confirmation of the Cramond site in 2001. (O)Edwards, Kevin J. and Whittington, Graeme "Vegetation Change" in Edwards & Ralston (2003) p. 70.Occupation at this site is dated to 8590+/-95 uncorrected radiocarbon years BP. Edwards, Kevin J., and Mithen, Steven (Feb. 1995) "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.Finlayson, Bill and Edwards, Kevin J. "The Mesolithic" in Edwards & Ralston (2003) p. 115. 7500 and 5500 Applecross A shell midden and rock-shelter at Sand in Wester Ross. The Inner Sound and its environs surrounding the island of Raasay are the focus of investigations researching Scotland's early Mesolithic settlers. The two dates for Sand suggest an intermediary period of abandonment. (B, S)"Sand" RCAHMS. Retrieved 21 August 2008.Hardy, K. and Wickham-Jones Caroline R. (2000) "Inner Sound, Highland, survey and excavation" Discovery Excav. Scot. 1. 6700 Colonsay A midden pit containing hundreds of thousands of charred hazelnut shells, all harvested in the same year, on a raised beach at Staosnaig. Nearby, smaller pits were used for roasting. (O)Moffat (2005) p. 91. 6500 Skye A rock shelter and midden site at An Corran in Staffin, probably related to Sand. (O, S)"An Corran" Staffin Community Trust (Urras an Taobh Sear) Retrieved 15 March 2008. 6500 Islay Stone artefacts including 250,000 flints at Bolsay. (S) 6500–5500 Rùm A beach site above Loch Scresort with stakeholes suggesting tent-like structures. (F, O)Rixson (2001) p. 1. 6000 Jura Three stone hearths and traces of red ochre, which are the earliest dated stone-built structures found so far. (S)Moffat (2005) pp. 90–91.Mercer, John (1972) "Microlithic and Bronze Age camps, 75–26 ft OD, N Carn, Jura". Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 6000 Coastal inundations The Storegga Slides created a tsunami that reached above normal high tides. Evidence of widespread coastal inundations has been found, especially in the north and east. (E) 5300–4300 Oronsay Five middens containing huge quantities of seashells, with some fish bones, antler and human remains. The middens appear to have been filled according to a seasonal rhythm. (B)Moffat (2005) pp. 92–93.

Neolithic