As the first half of the period is largely prehistoric, archaeology plays an important part in studies of early Medieval Scotland. There are no significant contemporary internal sources for the Picts, although evidence has been

Lacking the urban centres created under the Romans in the rest of Britain, the economy of Scotland in the early Middle Ages was overwhelmingly agricultural. Without significant transport links and wider markets, most farms had to produce a self-sufficient diet of

The primary unit of social organisation in Germanic and Celtic Europe was the kin group. The mention of descent through the female line in the ruling families of the Picts in later sources and

By the time of Bede and Adomnán, in the late seventh century and early eighth century, four major circles of influence had emerged in northern

Physical geography
Modern Scotland is half the size of England and Wales in area, but with its many inlets, islands and

There are almost no written sources from which to re-construct the demography of early Medieval Scotland. Estimates have been made of a population of 10,000 inhabitants in Dál Riata and 80–100,000 for Pictland. It is likely that the 5th and 6th centuries saw higher

In the early Medieval period, British kingship was not inherited in a direct line from previous kings, as would be the case in the late Middle Ages.