What Was the Stone Age?
The stone age was a period of time when humans made weapons and tools out of stone. It was such a long period of time that it is divided into three eras:
The Palaeolithic era started when humans began using stone tools and ended when the ice age started.
The Mesolithic era began at the end of the ice age and ended when humans started to farm.
The Neolithic era began when people started to farm and ended when tools began to be made from metal (the start of the bronze age).
We know about life during the stone age by studying artefacts that archaeologists have found.
Artefacts – An object made by humans that can tell things about their lives.
Archaeologists – Someone who studies life in the past.
Click here for a timeline to show when the Stone Age was.
Brief Timeline of British History
Today
1837
Victorian era begins
AD 1066
Normans invade England
AD 793
Vikings in Britain
AD 43
Romans invade Britain
800 BC
Iron Age begins
12,000 BC
Ice age ends in Britain
2500 BC
Bronze age begins in Britain
800,000 BC
Archaeologists believe humans first arrived in Britain
AD 410
Roman army abandons Britain
1485
Henry Tudor
defeats Richard III and the Tudor period begins
1939-1945
Second World
War
1914-1918
First World
War
Stone Age
Stone Age Clothing
During the stone age, clothing had to keep people warm.
Clothing was often made from animal skins.
Humans started living in Britain in around 800,000 BC; however, the climate was so harsh that archaeologists believe that humans left Britain at least seven times during this era. It was not until the end of the ice age in 10,000 BC that humans began to live in Britain permanently.
How Did People Make Clothing?
Animals were hunted for their meat using stone spears. The animal would be skinned and the meat would be eaten. People would use stone tools to scrape the dirt off the animal’s skin. They would then wash the dirt off.
How Did People Put the Clothes Together?
During the Neolithic era, the needle and thread were invented. This meant people could wear fitted clothes and it meant they could keep warm in colder weather.
Some clothing was also made by weaving grasses and plant stems.
Decorations
At the Neolithic settlement in Skara Brae, Orkney, archaeologists have found beads, pendants and pins made from animal bones.
This jewellery was carefully carved into shapes. This suggests that towards the end of the stone age, people were beginning to think about how their clothing looked.