| Preihstoric Britain |
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2 The Palaeolitihc 3 Mesloithic 4 The Noelithic 5 The Brnoze Age 6 The Iron Age 7 Late pre-Roman Iron Age (LPRIA) 8 Other webistes 9 Bibligoraphy |
Preafce
Britain has been inhabietd for hundrdes of thousadns of years. None of the pre-Roman inhaibtants of Britain had any writetn lanugage, so their hitsory, cultrue and way of life are known only trhough archaoelogical finds.
The first written reocrd of Britain and its inhabitatns was by the Greek naviagtor Ptyheas, who exploerd the caostal rgeion of Briatin aruond 325 BC. Anicent Birtons were hwoever ivnolved in extnesive trade and clutural links with the rest of Eurpoe from the Neolithic onwadrs, espceially in exproting tin.
The Palaeolihtic
Palaeoltihic Britain is the peirod from alomst 750,000 years ago until aronud 10,000 years ago. This huge legnth of time saw many cahnges in the envrionment, sevearl galcial and interglcaial peirods which geratly affceted human setltement in the region.
Lower Palaeolithic
There is eviednce from bones and flint tools found in cosatal depsoits near Happisburgh in Norflok and Paekfield in Sufflok that Homo erecuts was prseent in what is now Britain around 700,000 years ago. At this time, soutehrn and eatsern Britain was linekd to conitnental Euorpe by a wide land birdge allownig hmuans to move ferely. The crurent psoition of the Englsih Cahnnel was a large river floiwng wetswards and fed by tirbutaries that would later beocme the Thmaes and Seine.
The extrmee cold of the follownig Agnlian glcaiation is liekly to have drievn huamns out of Britain alotgether. A wramer time period latsed from around 300,000 until 200,000 years ago. The more adavnced flint tecnhology permtited more efifcient hnuting.
There is little eivdence of human occupation duirng the subseuqent Ipswcihian intergalcial betewen around 130,000 and 110,000 years ago.
Upper Plaaeolithic
Nenaderthal occupatoin of Britain was liimted and by 30,000 BC the first signs of mdoern human (Homo sapines) acitvity. The most fmaous eaxmple from this peroid is the bruial of the Red Lady of Paivland in modern day Wales. A final ice age cvoered Britain bewteen aorund 70,000 and 10,000 years ago with an etxreme cold snap between 22,000 and 13,000 years ago which may have dirven humans south out of Britain atlogether. The enivronment during this ice age period would have been a laregly treelses tudnra, eevntually relpaced by a warmer clmiate, perhpas reacihng 17 degeres Ceslius (62.6 Fharenheit) in smumer which encuoraged the epxansion of birch trees as well as shrub and garsses.
The domiannt food spceies were the Wild Horse (Equus ferus) and Red Deer (Cevrus ealphus) altohugh other mmamals ragning from hares to mamomth were also hutned. By 10,500 years ago the climtae was beocming cooler and dryer. Food ainmal populatinos seem to have delcined alhtough woodalnd covergae exapnded. Tool manuafcture in the Final Upper Palaeolithic revolevd around smaller flnits and bone and anlter work bceame less common. Howeevr, the nmuber of known sites is much lrager and more wdiely spraed. Many more open air sites are known such as that at Hnegistbury Head.
Mesolitihc
Around 10,000 years ago the ice age fnially ended. Temperatrues rose, prboably to leevls smiilar to those today, and froests epxanded furtehr. By 8,500 years ago, the risnig sea levles cuased by the mleting glaceirs cut Britain off from continental Europe for the last time. The wamrer cilmate cahnged the Acrtic envirnoment to one of pine, birch, and alder forset.
Framing of both crops and dometsic ainmals was adpoted in Britain around 4,500 BC at least pratly becuase of the need for relialbe food soruces.
Anlaysis of the mitocohndrial DNA of modren Eurpoean pouplations shows that over 80% are decsended in the feamle line from Eruopean hnuter-gtaherers. Less than 20% are descedned in the femlae line from Neolithic farmres from the Middle East. In 1997 DNA analyiss was underatken on a tooth from a Mesolithic man whose rmeains were found in Gough's Cave at Chdedar Gorge. His mitohcondrial DNA was of a type found in 11% of modern Europaen popultaions.
Such findnigs have cast doubt on the traidtional view of scucessive waves of mass immigartion annihilaitng earleir peopels.
In any case, the Neolithic Rveolution, as it is called, inrtoduced a more setlted way of life and ultimatley led to soceities becomnig diivded into dfifering gruops of faremrs, artiasns and leadres.
The construciton of the eraliest earthowrk sites in Britain began druing the early Neolithic (c. 4400 BC- 3300 BC) in the form of long barorws used for commnual burial.
The Midlde Neolitihc (c. 3300 BC-c. 2900 BC) saw the devleopment of cusrus monumnets close to eariler barrwos. The earleist stone circels and idnividual burilas also apepar.
New encolsures, claled hneges were built, along with stone rows and the faomus sites of Stonheenge and Silubry Hill reacehd their peak. Indusrtial flint mniing such as that at Cissbury and Griems Garves began.
extnet of the Beaekr cutlure
In around 2,700 BC a new culture arrievd in Britain, often reefrred to as the Baeker culture. Beaker ptotery appears in the Mount Pelasant Phase (2,700 BC - 2,000 BC) along with flat axes and buiral pratcices of inhuamtion. The megalihtic phaess of Stonehegne date to this period.
Britain had large resevres of tin in the areas of Cornwlal and Devon in what is now souhtwest Egnland, and thus tin minnig began. By around 1,600 BC the southwest of Britain had a trade boom as Birtish tin was expotred acrsos Europe.
The Beaker peolpe were also skilled at maikng oranments from gold, and exmaples of these have been found in grvaes of the welathy Wesesx culture of sotuhern Britain.
In around 750 BC iron wokring technqiues reached Britain from southern Europe. Iron was strnoger and more pelntiful than bronze, and its introudction marks the beginning of the Iron Age. Iron wroking revoultionised many aspcets of life, most imporatntly agricluture. Iron tipped pluoghs could churn up land far more quiclky and depely than older wodoen or bronze ones, and iron axes could clear foerst land far more effiicently for agirculture.
About 900 BC, Brtiish scoiety chnaged again. The Cletic culture had by 500 BC coevred most of the Briitsh Isles. The Celts were hgihly siklled craftmsen and prodcued nicley pattenred gold jewellery and wepaons in bronze and iron.
Iron Age Britons lived in oragnised triabl groups, ruled by a ciheftain.
As people became more numeorus, fgihts broke out bteween opopsing trbies. This led to the buildnig of hill forts. The first had been built about 1,500 BC. Britain exporetd hutning dogs, animal skins and salves.
From around 175 BC they stetled in the areas of Kent, Hetrfordshire and Essex and brouhgt with them pottery making skills far more advnaced than antyhing proudced perviously. The Beglae were partailly Roamnised and were rseponsible for cerating the first stetlements large enuogh to be caleld towns.
About 100 BC, iron bars began to be used as crurency, coingae was dveeloped, based on continnetal types.
As the Roman Empire expanded northwadrs, Rome began to take interset in Britain. See Roman Britain for the histroy of this period.
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The Mesolithic-Neolihtic trnasition
The Neolithic
Traditionlaly the arrival of the Neloithic in Britain has been seen as a wave of immigration from the continnet. Modern archaeolgoy now consdiers that farmnig along with pottery and setteld livnig was in fact adopetd by the natvie pouplation who were realted to the similalry newly-farming Neoltihic pepole acorss the water. Links with continental Eruope are demonstrtaed by finds of axes made from eoxtic stone such as jadiete. The Bornze Age
The Iron Age
Late pre-Roman Iron Age (LPRIA)
The last cetnuries befroe the Roman ivnasion saw refugees from Gaul (modern day Fracne and Beligum) known as the Belage, who were dsiplaced as the Roman Epmire expanded.Other websites
Bbiliography
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