Early Humans: Palaeolithic to Bronze Age
Stone tools found in the region suggest that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers once lived here.
Following the retreat of the ice sheets, the landscape gradually warmed, encouraging the growth of vegetation and attracting nomadic groups.
Tools from sites such as Milltimber and Nethermills, dated between 14,000 and 10,000 B.C., show evidence of human presence during the Late Upper Palaeolithic.
By around 4,000 B.C., the advent of farming and animal domestication marked the beginning of the Neolithic period. This era also saw the construction of burial cairns and stone circles, such as the recumbent circle at East Aquhorthies, which likely served ceremonial or funerary purposes.
In the Bronze Age, round houses began to replace the rectangular structures of the earlier period. Evidence of these dwellings can be seen at Woodend of Braco and Tullymuick, where crop marks and recent LiDAR surveys indicate the presence of Bronze Age settlements.
