Stone Age - The Palaeolithic Hunter-Gatherer

Aim – Children will gain a deeper understanding about life in the Palaeolithic, Stone Age. This will include lifestyle differences between hunter-gatherers and modern society. 

How we achieve this – Bruach will explain how dramatically the British landscape has changed over the past 12,000 years; therefore transforming from a land under ice, to frozen tundra, to dense temperate forest.

As the ice sheet receded Britain remained connected the European until 6,000BC. Although it was still too cold for permanent settlements, this ‘land bridge’ enabled hunter-gatherer bands to visit during the summer months. At this point in time, the only domesticated animal was the dog. Large wild animal herds were incredibly important to the hunter-gatherers, as evidenced in cave art throughout Europe. Bruach will talk about nomadic tribal life. Survival depended on being able to make everything you needed from the natural environment, including clothes to wear, weapons for hunting and fishing nets

Activities can include:

• Object handling session
• Cave Art
• Hunting techniques
• Question and answers will be taken throughout the session to consolidate information

The Neolithic Farmer

Aim – Children will gain a deeper understanding about life in the Neolithic, Stone Age. This will include the significance of the agricultural revolution.

How we achieve this – Early farmers had no idea that by growing a few seeds and domesticating a few animals they would ultimately transform the natural world. The journey had a difficult start, forest needed to be cleared for crops and grazing.

Compared to hunting and gathering farming is incredibly hard work, so why do it? Farming can sustain larger populations and enabled large scale permanent settlements. Because farming brought with it disease and human conflict as people started to fight over resources. Farmers started to develop early societies.  This brought people together for the construction of monuments, which included burial mounds, henges and stone circles.

Activities can include:

• Grinding wheat using a quern stone
• Interactive storytelling session which includes monument building
• Throughout the session question and answers will be taken to consolidate information

Book Now