500,000-8500 BC Palaeolithic

Some of the oldest and richest evidence for the presence of humans in northern Europe has been found in England. Stone tools, butchered bone and, in one case, human remains have been found at sites which date from at least 500,000 and possibly over 700,000 years ago. However, people did not live in England throughout the whole of the Palaeolithic period. This was because of marked changes in the environment and geography caused by a series of Ice Ages and warmer periods. The coldest periods were too extreme for humans, with much of Britain covered by polar ice. The other barrier to occupation was often the sea. It was only during cool periods that sea-level dropped and land linked eastern England to mainland Europe.

Most sites in south and east England have been found in river sediments. Open-air sites like these are rare towards the north of England as the movement of ice-sheets during the Ice Ages often destroyed any evidence of occupation. In these areas and in the west of England the best evidence is often found in caves, which provided natural shelter. Worked and decorated bone, antler and ivory are best preserved in these sites, dating to about 12,500 years ago.