Before c. 4000 BC
The Stone Age: walking to Britain
Britain's earliest people were hunter-gatherers. They did not farm. Instead they lived by hunting animals and collecting wild food such as fruit.
For most of the Stone Age, a land bridge joined Britain to mainland Europe. People moved back and forth across it, following the deer and horses they hunted. Around 10,000 years ago the sea rose and covered the land bridge, and Britain became an island.
About 6,000 years ago, the first farmers arrived. Their ancestors probably came from south-east Europe. Farmers built houses, tombs and monuments, and some of these can still be seen today.
Quiz
Is the statement below TRUE or FALSE? The Channel cut Britain off from mainland Europe for good only around 1,000 years ago.
False. It was about 10,000 years ago. A thousand years ago was already the time of the Vikings and the Normans. To remember the order: first Britain was cut off (10,000 years ago), then farming arrived (6,000 years ago).
Quiz
Who were the first people to live in Britain, during the Stone Age?
Britain's first people were hunter-gatherers, who lived by hunting animals and collecting wild food. Farmers came much later, about 6,000 years ago, so A is wrong. The Romans and the Anglo-Saxons arrived thousands of years after that.
Quiz
Which TWO statements about Britain's first farmers are correct?
The first farmers came about 6,000 years ago, and their ancestors probably came from south-east Europe. B is wrong: hunter-gatherers had lived in Britain long before them. D is wrong because the Romans did not invade until thousands of years later.