4000-2200 BC Neolithic

After the introduction of farming, people in England quickly began to make their mark on the landscape, clearing woodland to graze livestock and grow crops. Although they stayed longer in places in order to look after their animals and crops it appears that people did not live in permanent settlements. Instead they moved around as natural resources became depleted.

These early communities built large communal monuments, and collective tombs which housed the bones of some of their dead and which may have been used to reinforce territorial claims. Well before 3000 BC some individuals in many parts of the country began to be buried with grave goods. By around 3000 BC more elaborate ceremonial monuments were being built in the form of henges, and timber and stone circles.

These communities were not completely isolated – goods were exchanged and traded in England and mainland Europe. Certain areas of England had valuable resources such as good stone and flint. This led to regional ‘industries’ which produced objects for trade, particularly axes, which were used locally as well as traded. Contact with mainland Europe led to the introduction of a new material culture in around 2500 BC. Known today as ‘Beaker’ culture, this brought new technology and a renewed emphasis on personal display and status.

	Sign Posts
	England 2200-800 BC Bronze Age Test signpost text

	Web Links
	Sutton Hoo Society website (http://www.suttonhoo.org/). A brief introduction to the work of the Sutton Hoo Society and the story behind the Anglo Saxon Royal Cemetery at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk