Professional Anthropological Guide

According to Scotland prehistory, the earliest formal burial took place after about the BC (Herzfeld, 2001).The Stone Age farmers buried their dead ones in chambers which were covered with mounds. In the plains or the lowlands, man constructed chambers from timber, turf and earth. In the highlands, stones were the commonly used building material (Herzfeld, 2001). The process started by building long burrows made from soils and turf which later along appeared like long mounds. Both the stone-built graves and mounds were grouped together in a given area.

Characteristics of graves made from mounds were: they are extremely complicated, the ditches from which the soils were initially dug during the process of constructing the mounds filled as time passed by. It was extremely difficult to plough in the area which was occupied by mounds. Graves were made from stones and were characterized by chambered cairns whose shapes varied from round to rectangular (Herzfeld, 2001).

In Scotland, burials in stone-built graves were discovered near Stornway, Western Isles. From the first century onwards, graves are more common probably because inhumation in the form of large grave pits or even wooden coffins was commonly practiced. The various graves in a cemetery in the first few centuries, in the AD, are not easy to locate. They can only be located by taking aerial photographs or accidentally (Herzfeld, 2001). Long cists graves are discovered through the process of coastal erosion if the grave is located along the coastal line or through ploughing if it is located where farming is done. Wind erosion was also another agent which helped in eroding the top earth enabling the archeologists to study these remains.

The early man’s clothes, bags, basket and nets were from fibre (Metcalf, 2007). During the Mesolithic Stone Age, man’s economic activities comprised of hunting and gathering (Metcalf, 2007). He hunted animals and birds using arrows, made from flint at the sharp end, and spears. His prey was such animals as deer, duck and wild boar (Metcalf, 2007). The meat was used as a source of food while the skin was used in making clothes and huts. Later on, during the Neolithic Stone Age he embraced farming as his way of life. He cleared forests and cultivated both wild and domesticated crops and kept domestic animals such as cattle and pigs.

Prehistoric artifacts and artwork involved such activities as painting cave walls (Metcalf, 2007). Man used bloodstone tools and practiced nut processing in West coast and isles.

The agrarian and the  industrial revolution (between 1800 and 1900) was characterized by such things as tower houses, deserted villages, and farms, Coal mines and heavy industries (Kottak, 2009). It is during this period that agriculture experienced major changes. It became mechanized since new techniques were invented and implemented, this increased production. Coal was also employed as the main source of energy to drive heavy machines in industries.

The period between 1900 and 2007 was characterized by various aspects which were different from the ones that existed before 1900. The older villages, rural areas and small towns were converted into large cities to accommodate a considerable number of people and activities. Plans were developed and implemented in cities to give ample space for public and private gardens, parks and athletic fields. Cities were re-organized and re-arranged to give room for constructing these amenities. It was during this period that a large disparity between the rich and the poor occurred; the society was comprised of a few rich people and extremely many poor ones. Transport sectors experienced a variety of improvements since people used cars, bicycles, airplanes and trains and the demand for better and comfortable modes of transport lead to the improvements of the road and railway networks.

 Man’s lifestyle has changed since 1900 (Jurmain, Kilgore, & Trevathan, 2008). His emphasis is on a balanced diet which includes proteins, vitamins and carbohydrates and the mode of dressing changes day in day out as fashion designers come up with new designs. The industrial sector has also experienced variety of changes. For instance, new machines which are less labor intensive and at the same time allow specialization and division of labor have replaced the Stone Age tools and equipment. The communication sector has also improved. Man uses mobile phones and computers to transfer messages from one person to the other. The new techniques in communication and transport sectors have turned the world into a small country.

Despite the above positive improvements, it is during the period between 1900 and today that the world has experienced two of its largest wars (Jurmain et al, 2008). Man made such implements as guns and bombs which he has used to fight his allies.

Human remains can easily help biological anthropologists to tell what that person fed on, his body structure, his health status and life expectancy (Ember, C., Ember, M., & Peregrine, 2011). They use the information obtained from the study of these remains to explain origin of some diseases, their cure and how they could be prevented. The soil surrounding a mound gives a clear indication of the type of vegetation and the farming methods employed by the community that originally occupied the area. Cultural remains such as tools and equipment can help one to tell the economic activity carried out by the community which originally occupied the area, whether they were farmers, pastoralist, or hunters and gatherers (Ember et al, 2011).