New Stone Age Ireland (4500 - 2500 BC)
The introduction of farming into Ireland around 6000 years ago marks the time known as the Neolithic or New Stone Age. The Ulster Museums holds substantial collections of Neolithic ceramic and lithic material from well known sites such as Lyles Hill and Ballygalley Head in County Antrim and Island MacHugh in Co Tyrone.
New Stone Age crafts and skills 
The early farmers developed new crafts and skills including pottery-making. The pots usually have rounded bases and the museum's collections include many fine examples. The Neolithic farmers also manufactured polished stone axes in vast numbers, the most splendid being the hoard of nineteen discovered close to the Malone Road in Belfast. These axes are made from a stone called porcellanite.
New Stone Age burials
These early farmers also buried their dead in stone tombs or 'megaliths', many of which can still be seen in the countryside today. The dead were often buried with 'grave goods' which could include pots, stone axes and arrowheads. The material from some of the most important tombs inUlster are preserved in the museum's collection such as those from Audleystown (County Down), Ballykeel (County Armagh) and Ballyrenan (County Tyrone).
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