The British Isles has been populated by humans for 750.000 years but only became an island when the ice sheets melted about 8,000 years ago. It was only with the introduction of farming about 7,000 years ago that we see radical change.
- You need to make this a problem-solving topic not just a series of changes relating to tools, houses, weapons, clothing, settlements and monuments. Ask
pupils to predict the impact that new discoveries would have on people’s lives, always stressing continuities. Before the New Stone Age, man was already
clearing woodland around sources of water to maintain a steady supply of deer. - Changes didn’t happen quickly. Farming took 2,000 years to be fully introduced. The idea of farming started in Syria and Iraq and was brought to Britain around 5,000 BC.
- Some changes were more significant than others, especially the introduction of arable farming about 7,000 years ago.
- When
