I first really started to learn about these people last year when I visited a Neolithic passage tomb in Ireland. My fiancé and I chose Newgrange as one of our stops because he is obsessed with history and how often in the United Sates are you able to stand in a building that has been around for over 5000 years. We weren't able to take pictures inside of the tomb but the museum has recreations of what it looks like. When discovered, human remains were found which lead archeologists to believe it to be a tomb. Another interesting fact is that beginning at dawn on the winter solstice each year the sunlight illuminates the inside of the tomb by about 9am. This discovery also indicated that this site was possibly an important place with the people's culture and spirituality.
One of the most upsetting things to see was the lack of care people have for these ancient irreplaceable sites. Inside the tomb we noticed many carvings made by people during the years between it's discovery and when it was set up as a protected monument. Now there are strict regulations on the number of people allowed in the tomb and the length of time you can spend inside. They have also prohibited photos from being taken in an effort to preserve this space. I think the more we can learn about and study from the beginning civilizations the more we can learn about ourselves today. Even though they took longer to make these advances, they are the foundations for our current life.
