Prehistoric BritainThe Stone Age

Glacial MovementsEarly InhabitantsTechniques

The Bronze AgeMore ImmigrationArt & ArchitectureStone Circles & Chalk

Drawings

The Iron AgeTrade with the MainlandTechniques Developed

The CeltsHillforts and Tribal

SocietyLater CentralizationReligion and Women

Lindow Man, 1st cent. CE; British Museum

Stone Age Britain: to c. 2400 BCEGlacial Movements

Ebb & Flow of the Ice SheetEnd of the Ice Age c. 9/10,000 BCEGrasses, Trees, WildlifeChannel Separates c. 6/7,000 BCE

Early Inhabitants750,000 BCE: From the MainlandHomo Sapiens: 30-40,000 BCEPermanent Settlements: 12,000 BCE

TechniquesHunting, Gathering; Grains (wheat)Beginnings of Farming, MiningVarious Burial Practices; Earth Mounds

Example: Skara Brae, c. 3200 – 2200 BCE

Skara Brae, Orkney Isle

Bronze Age Britain: c. 2400 – c. 700 BCE

ImmigrationBeaker Peoples (Pottery)

ArtMetalwork in Copper, TinHand Tools; Nature

ArchitectureCommunal & Individual DwellingWattle & Daub; Thatch

Stone Circles (over 900)Henge: Circular Earthwork with Banks, Ditches, & High Table

Chalk DrawingsNatural Surroundings

Settlements along the Thames

Stonehenge: c. 2500 – c. 1600 BCE

Uffington Horse, Oxfordshire

Cerne Abbas Giant, Dorset

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The Iron Age: c. 700 – 1st cent. BCEMainland Trade Patterns

Gaul (France)MediterraneanMinerals, Grain, SlavesWine, Pottery, MetalworkCoinage in SE by 20 BCE

Techniques DevelopedSmelting/Extracting IronHarder Substance; DurableFarming and PlowingBeans, Peas, Flax; Grinding GrainWar Chariots and Battle Axes

Examples: Battersea Shield, Waterloo Helmet

Smelting Iron

Battersea Shield: 350 – 50 BCE

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Waterloo Helmet: 150 – 50 BCE

The Celts: After 1000 BCETribal Society & Hillforts

Tribes Related to Gauls & GermansKinship Groups; CommunityHillforts: 3k at least; Power

Trade, Seasonal Activity

Later CentralizationFrom Clans to “Monarchy”Tribes Combining

Catuvellauni, Iceni, BrigantesLowland Settlements

Camulodunum, Verulamium

Religion and WomenPriest Class of Druids (Gaulish)Nature & Seasons; Pantheism; SacrificePriestesses and Queens (Boudicca)

Maiden Castle, Dorset, c. 600 BCE

From Stones & Bones to Axe-wielding Celts

Waves of MigrationClimatic Changes

Permanent SettlementFarmingMining

Tribal Societies vs. “Britain”Rivaling ClansHierarchical StructureCombination; DominationTrade and CommerceReligious & Seasonal LifeImportance of Water

Rivers, Bogs

Snettisham Torc, Norfolk, c. 75 BCEAbout 1 Kilogram of Gold and Silver