Prehistory Hand On issuu

Contents 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 41 49 50 51

The stone axe. Activity: henge in a shoebox Col’s Neolithic village; Skara Brae. Activity: furnish the stone house Patterns in stone. Activity: Neolithic carving Cave art. Activity: make a tribal cave painting Henge ceremony. Activity: make a Stone Age necklace Ryanna arrives in the Bronze Age. The Chieftain’s burial Bronze Age beaker. Activity: make your own beaker Weaving with nettles! Activity: wild weaving The broken sword. Flag Fen. Activity: reconstruct a Bronze Age sword Home at last! Activity: colour Ryanna’s Iron Age village Celtic Feast! Activity: make your own prehistoric pudding A story by the f ire. Activity: illustrate Anwen’s story and be a bard!

Prehistoric boats. Activity: Make Brin’s coracle A visit from the merchant. The Snettisham Hoard. Activity: dress like a Chieftain – make a torc Warriors on the warpath. The Wandsworth Shield. Activity: make a shield boss Iron Age hill forts. Maiden Castle. Activity: put on the war paint!

Local history; online resources; Hertfordshire’s Neolithic Henge What’s under your feet? Activity: imagine you’re an archaeologist – a thousand years from now...

Timeline Frieze. Activity: colour and cut out prehistoric objects for the timeline frieze Timeline of British prehistory. Activity: make a frieze Prehistory, Stone, Bronze and Iron Map of prehistoric sites in Britain Celtic Harmony

All activities link across the curriculum and support chronological understanding and historical enquiry.

This book is ideal for use in school or at home, for your class or as a creative present for your children.

Look out for our symbols which flag up either a Question or an Activity A Celtic Harmony publication Copyright © Celtic Harmony 2014 Written by Catherine Henderson Illustrated by Stephen Hill Commissioning Editor: Clare Holt Archaeological advisor: Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews, Archaeology Officer for North Hertfordshire District Council Book design: HillCreative.co.uk Printed in the UK by Mixam Limited ISBN: 978-0-9930501 We would like to thank Hertford Museum for permission to feature the Bronze Age beaker, North Herts Museums Service for the photograph on page 37, the archaeologists at Hertfordshire County Council for their advice on local history, and, for kindly reading and commenting on the text, Dennis Hamley, Vicky Langan and Fiona Henderson.

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Ryanna’s Journey It all began when I found the axe. Well, Drust did really. Drust is my dog: we go everywhere together. We had gone up to the earthworks on the hill.

Drust started sniffing and scrabbling about and eventually he dug up the axe.

It was smooth and shiny and a beautiful greeny-grey colour.

Suddenly I felt really tired. I curled up with Drust and must have fallen asleep.

When I woke up I was still inside the earthworks but all around me were great tall wooden posts! And forest. No paths. No fields. And no village. Just trees. Well, we did find a village, but it was completely different to mine.

It had long wooden houses where the people all lived together and wore clothes made from animal skins.

And that was where I met Col – and gave him back his axe!

Col took me to a cave where the walls were covered with paintings and I found out where his tribe worship their gods. Later that night I paddled off down the river in his dug-out canoe, back to my village.

Only it was the wrong village! In this one the people wore strange clothes and looked at me suspiciously. All except Bria, who was friendly right from the start. I helped with their Chieftain’s funeral and watched the new Chieftain break his sword and offer it to the river god.

Luckily Bria had hidden my – or rather Col’s – canoe, so I slipped away while they were all busy feasting with their new Chieftain.

I f loated down the river on the current and at last I saw smoke drifting up from the houses of my own village. It was wonderful to be home again with all the familiar tastes and smells. We had a big feast and Anwen, our bard, told a story afterwards. The tribe was getting ready for war, so we helped polish the shields and mix woad for war paint.

It’s great being back. But it’s fun exploring too, and maybe one day I’ll get to meet my friends Col and Bria again.

Prehistory, Stone, Bronze & Iron ‘Prehistory’ is the term used to describe the vast period before history was recorded. It was not until classical writers such as Julius Caesar began writing about the British Isles, towards the end of the Iron Age, that Britain emerged from ‘prehistory’.

Other areas got there earlier: in fact Britain came after almost everywhere else in advances in technology and social change. Most discoveries originated in the Far or Middle East and were brought to us over long periods of time through trade and migration.

Prehistoric people travelled far more than we might imagine. Essentially nomadic up until the Neolithic period, they followed herds, traded over increasingly long distances and fled the effects of climate change and, later, war.

Britain was joined to the continental mainland until around 6,200 BC. After that, people travelled by boat across the Channel and along the rivers: rivers were the roads of prehistoric Britain.

‘Stone Age’, ‘Bronze Age’ and ‘Iron Age’ are descriptions first used in the nineteenth century to describe periods of prehistory according to their dominant tool-making technologies.

The Stone Age, a period so vast it covers 99% of our time on earth, is subdivided into ‘Palaeolithic’ (Old Stone Age),’ Mesolithic’ (Middle Stone Age) and ‘Neolithic’ (New Stone Age). The changes from one period to another were gradual, and all dates are approximate and constantly revised as archaeologists make new discoveries. These periods occurred at different times in different parts of the world. v The Vinca people of Serbia discovered how to make copper tools around 5,400 BC. This technology took three thousand years to reach Britain.

Around 800 BC we learnt how to smelt iron, a much harder and therefore more useful metal than bronze.

The older technologies of stone and bronze continued to be used, and other ideas and ways of doing things were brought here by migration and trade.

It is these cultural changes that tell us so much about who we once were, and who we are now.

Celtic Harmony is an award winning charity providing hands-on cultural heritage education to increase understanding of the natural world and create a more sustainable way of life for future generations.

The charity’s approach is learning through doing “I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand”.

Since 1998, Celtic Harmony has provided a quality hands-on experience of life in ancient Britain at Celtic Harmony Camp, the reconstructed Iron Age settlement in Hertfordshire, through a range of learning programs.

Stone Age Day Iron Age Farmer Iron Age Warrior Iron Age Chieftain Woodsman Day Step into ancient Britain with your class, call 01438 718543 or visit celticharmony.org

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A Creative Journey into ancient Britain Ryanna lives in the late Iron Age. In this book she travels back to the Neolithic period – and f inds out about earlier Stone Age life while she’s there.

On her way home she visits the Bronze Age, before returning to her own time. During her journey she makes new friends, sees how people once lived and f inds out how they made things.

The photocopiable activities can be done at home or in the classroom using easy-to-come-by, inexpensive materials.

The timeline at the end of the book can be made into a frieze, and there is a section on how to f ind out about local prehistoric sites.

Follow Ryanna’s story at Ryannawarriorprincess

Experience life in prehistoric Britain first hand! a cave painting • Create a Bronze Age sword • Make like a Celt • Cook a model coracle • Build • Make your own torc

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& many more exciting activities for home or school.

Fascinating facts about Stone Age houses, Bronze Age burials and prehistoric travel Local history and archaeology Photocopiable timeline of British prehistory

Truly a remarkable book. It is a mix of role play, story, practical work and a comprehensive historical background lucidly transmitted. A complete package based on the best pedagogical principles. Highly recommended.

Dennis Hamley, children’s author

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A fantastic, fun and informative book. Great cross-curricular links and ideas to bring history to life. Perfect for the new curriculum!

Vicky Langan, history co-ordinator, Morgans School, Hertford

Prehistory hands-on. A creative journey into Ancient Britain Catherine Henderson and Stephen Hill A Celtic Harmony publication Copyright © Celtic Harmony ISBN: 978-0-9930501