Maps & Background Information : Neolithic England

• Dorset
• Bournemouth
• Corfe Castle
• Isle of Purbeck
• Jurassic Coast

• Neolithic England
• Round & Long Barrows
• Salisbury
• Stonehenge
• The New Forest

Gathering Nuts! As temperatures rose after the last Ice Age so the landscape of England began to change. The arctic tundra began to be displaced by dense forest. This is the period we now call the Mesolithic, the middle stone age. The inhabitants of these shores gathered plants and hunted game in these rich woodlands, living in a land of relative plenty. Small groups could live easily searching for food as required, never needing a social framework more complex than an extended family could provide.

Cultural Revolution! Under these conditions the population slowly expanded, hunting and gathering with ever greater intensity. That phenomenon so typical of the human animal, the resource rush, was almost inevitable. What was required was radical change in the way these societies were organised. To replace the dwindling supplies of wild game, animals were domesticated. To provide a more dependable supply of edible plants, crop cultivation was adopted. This shift in food production also required a higher degree of social organisation as more specialised jobs began to develop. Also required was a greater awareness of the future, planning being essential to guarantee food supplies. With these developments the ancient inhabitants of England entered the Neolithic, the New Stone Age.

Crops and Circles! With the arrival of the Neolithic we see the first evidence of large scale social organisation. The construction of a 100m Long Barrow as a place of worship demands a commitment that no earlier society could hope to provide. It has been estimated the shaping of the stones that make up Stonehenge took 20 million man-hours of labour, an enormous resource. Part and parcel of this progressively more complex society was an increasing social hierarchy. Extended families gave way to clans and in turn to tribes and tribal federations. The leaders of these groups had greater and greater importance, so we see the first Round Barrows, where the great and good of society could be interred with honours appropriate to their status.