BRITISH PREHISTORY ABETINI MATTEO IACUMIN JESSICA 3A

EARLIEST TIME AND PEOPLE Britain has not always been an island It became an island after the end of the last ice age, because sea levels rose as the ice sheets melted, and Britain became separated from the European mainland shortly before 6000 BC The people living in Britain were descendants of the first homo sapiens who arrived in Europe – years ago They lived they lived by hunting and gathering

NEOLITHIC: INTRODUCTION OF FARMING Change from a hunter-gatherer to a farming way of life Farming started to develop in Britain between 5000BC and 4500 BC Introduction of farming into Britain was the result of a huge migration It took about 2000 years to spread across the island The first farmers brought the ancestors of cattle, sheep and goats with them from the continent

EARLY SETTLEMENTS The earliest Neolithic sites (approx BC) occur alongside late Mesolithic settlements From the start of the fourth millennium BC, we see a move into new areas not exploited previously In this period were built the first large communal tombs There are also ceremonial monuments, people from communities in a particular region would gather together Some of these monuments, called henges, were built according to the position of the sun, one of these was Stonehenge, developed about 3000 BC

STONEHENGE Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks. It was built in several phases spanning hundreds of years, from around 3000 BC to 1600 BC There are many theories about the reason for the building but none has been proved People generally believe that it was a place of worship and ritual or a site of healing

BRONZE AGE People lived in settlements consisted of round houses, made from timber, which were often grouped together Arrival of new styles of metalwork First field systems in Britain Construction of a few hillforts, which were used for trade and religious activities,and the start of the so- called 'Celtic' way of life

IRON AGE (800 B.C.-43 A.D.) Gradual introduction of iron working technology Trading and exchange contacts between Britain and mainland Europe developed in the Bronze Age continued Introduction of the potter's wheel, the lathe and the rotary quern Introduction of new crops (new varieties of barley and wheat), peas, beans New farming techniques (iron plough) As a consequence, the population grew

RELIGION AND BELIEF Archaeologists believe that the Celts worshipped their gods through sacrifice But material treasures weren't the only sacrifices, in fact were sacrificed animals, and even humans, to their gods. The Celts also sacrificed weapons to the gods by throwing them into lakes and rivers The Celtic religion was closely related to the natural world and they worshipped gods in sacred places like lakes, rivers, cliffs and bushes. The Celts recognis the beginning of the warm season; they had two annual festivals and on a social level, Samhain was a transitional period, when the spirits could pass between the two worlds(Halloween).

IRON AGE LIFE Some of the Celts at least were skilled artists and craft workers:  Pottery  Forging  Collecting water  Animal husbandry  Curing animal skin  An ard  Dyeing  Charcoal-making  An antler pick  Rotary quernstone  A pole lathe  Smelting iron

THE END OF THE AGE OF IRON By the end of the Iron Age, amongst other things, coinage had been introduced, wheel thrown pottery was being made, there was an increased interest in personal appearance, people had started to live in larger and more settled communities, and the mortuary rites of society had changed. All of the domestic life would have occurred within the site of Chysauster in Cornwall; It was made up of individual houses of stone with garden plots, clustered along a street.