[sionnsar]

Would the local people have been "Picts" or not?

Possibly. At the time at least most of Scotland was inhabited by the Picts. Later the Orkneys (and other places) were invaded by the Vikings; also a group of Irish (the Scotti) moved on in to western Scotland, becoming the Highlanders and Islanders.

[truth_seeker]

"Later the Orkneys (and other places) were invaded by the Vikings; also a group of Irish (the Scotti) moved on in to western Scotland, becoming the Highlanders and Islanders."

I had understood the Celts (Scotti) came much later than 5,000 years ago.

And I think the Nordics came later, too.

So that goes back to the picts or pre-picts; eg. what one might label the indiginous people of the British Isles.

(Before Celts, Romans, Agles, Saxons, Frisians, Jutes, Normans, Belgians, Vikings, etc.---5,000 years ago)