>What did the Picts farm? I am talking of the Picts who were already in
>Scotland when the Celts from Ireland landed in Argyll.  I thought they
>farmed nothing.
>
>
>Andrew

Hi Andrew

Yes we are talking the same Picts, you specifically about the Picts that were
in Argyll. The name Pict is a derogatory term that the Romans inflicted on the
indigenous population of Britain. It means in nicer terms painted people
because they painted themselves with blue dye. This term was first used in
about 279 AD. So any date before this they are known as the British Iron Age,
who were the descendants of the Bronze Age people who in turn were the
descendants of the neolithic people etc etc. The Romans described them as
looking much like the Spanish. They 'pushed' the Picts to the far reaches and
hilly and mountainous regions - Cornwall, The Highlands of Scotland and Wales.
These areas to this day have maintained a different culture to Romano Britain,
Anglo Saxon Britain and in all likelyhood intergrated with the Q Celtic
peoples from Ireland and later on the Vikings to make up what is now the
indigenous population of rural Scotland.

I can't remember what the exact varieties were that they farmed, but it would
differ from area to area. Much warmer in Cornwall, wetter in the north west
and longer ripening season in the East. The cabbage family: kales etc would
have been high on the list. They dried mushrooms, seeds, nuts etc. I had a
brilliant book on the archaeology of food and healing in Scotland where the
residues on pots, seeds and foods from middens all from a variety of eras and
excavations had been analysed. Unfortunately I lent this book to someone who
has lost it. I could probably drag my volumes of Proceeding of the Society of
Antiquities of Scotland out and all my old excavation reports from Buquoy etc.
If you are really really interested I could look out some references for you.

Fran

PS For a quick run down on Scottish School Education on the Picts go to

http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/seeyouseeme/scotsandpicts/teachers/background.shtml


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