8500-4000 BC Mesolithic

The population of England at the end of the Palaeolithic period was probably quite sparse. As the ice sheets retreated and the climate warmed people returned to the area in larger numbers. At the beginning of the Mesolithic, Britain was still a peninsula of mainland Europe and people could arrive on foot. There seems to have been regular contact between southern England and northern France, shown by the similarity of the stone tools found in both areas. As sea levels rose towards the end of the Mesolithic period and Britain once more became an island, there is less evidence for human contact with mainland Europe.

Most of the evidence for how people lived during the Mesolithic period lies in the stone tools they left behind, in particular blades and modified blades called microliths (literally meaning ‘small stones’). These would have been mounted onto wooden handles, hafts and arrow shafts. Wooden objects have rarely survived in England, one exception being at the site of Star Carr in Yorkshire.

At some sites bone, teeth and antler have survived. These help to reconstruct the landscape and climate, and where there are cutmarks from butchery, show which animals were being hunted. Plant remains and in particular pollen can also help build a picture of the surrounding vegetation.