Bronze Age

Gunnister stone

stone with scalloped edge

It is difficult to separate the Bronze Age in Shetland as Bronze had little impact on daily life till near the end of that era.  The Burnt Mounds which can be found all over Shetland appear to date from this era but their use is still in question.  Another thing that did alter was the method of burial.

The chambered cairns of the Neolithic people gave way to individual burials and a period of cremations.  Around 1500BC the weather was deteriorating and that would have a far greater effect with a struggle to grow and harvest crops.  Some bronze appears at the end of the Bronze Age –about 7ooBC.