The early farmers kept various animals,includingcattle and sheep.There's also evidence of pigs,butit is possible that these could have been descendedfrom the native wild species.Now,we know frommodern farming that if the level of breeding stockfalls below about three hundred females,the future ofthe species locally is at risk.So we must assumethat from the beginnings of Neolithic farming thenumber of breeding sheep would have considerablyexceeded three hundred,and the national cattleherd must have been of a similar size.The questionis how these were brought to the area and wherethey came from.
It's usually suggested that the Neolithic settlers used skin-covered boats to transportlivestock.But this method would have severely restricted the range of the colonisingfleets.The sheer volume of animal transport necessary means it's unlikely that this livestockcould have been brought from anywhere further than England.
What about crops?Well,tw main cereal crops were introduced to Ireland during thsi time:wheatand barley,both in several varieties.The main evidence for their presence consists ofimpressions on pottery,where a cereal grain accidentally became embedded in the surface of apot before it was fired.The grain itself was destroyed by the firing,but it left an impression onthe pot which could be studied and identified by botanists.