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The Neolithic Period

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The Windmill Hill People and the Henge Builders

Appox. 6,000 BC to 2,300 BC

The New Stone Age, or Neolithic Period, is an odd name for the time where building in wood and farming are the major cultural developments but perhaps the Megalithic structures, like Stonehenge and Avebury Circle, that the people of this period built is what they are really remembered for. Once again one is known for what one leaves behind, which is great because when we find something we are not expecting, like the Neolithic remains at Flag Fen near Peterborough, we have to rewrite the history books.

Various panoramic images of Stonehenge

(Click on the images for a large format version)

A view of Stonehenge from the south-west

A view of Stonehenge from the south-east

A view of Stonehenge from the east

A view of Stonehenge from the north-east. The recumbent (fallen) stone in the foreground is called the "Slaughter Stone"

More images and information about Stonehenge

It is the change from the hunter/gatherer lifestyle of the Mesolithic Period towards the development of farming that allowed much larger groups of the population to live together and more importantly in one place. Farming currently seems to have reached Britain sometime around 4,000 BC. It is this relatively stable background that allowed the change to a material culture. This change from a hand to mouth existence to one where food and shelter were now in surplus allowed time for the development of other aspects of culture like art and belief which would have been their version of religion and science.

A panoramic image of Avebury Circle

A view, looking eastwards, of Avebury henge and standing stones from the top of the henge bank

More images and information about Avebury

By 3500 B.C., the Windmill Hill culture had developed.  These people were part of is known as a Secondary Neolithic culture.  Originally, the Windmill Hill people were thought of to be of Mediterranean descent.  However, there has been no finding to prove otherwise.  Remnants of temporary dwellings were found in the excavation of this "Hill", such as human remains, various finely crafted stone tools, and some pieces of earthenware, such as pottery.

Aerial view of Windmill Hill causewayed camp

The environment they lived in was a rather lush one. They were surrounded by a forest along with wide open plains in which to plant their crops, such as Emmer wheat and Einkorn; and raise their livestock, such as sheep, goats, cattle and pigs.

With their growing expertise in farming and raising livestock, they began to create and use various stone tools, mainly axes. These axes were known as tree-felling axes. They had a greater symbolism other than just the simple uses of cutting items. As the Windmill Hill culture evolved, they began to develop a strong sense of religion, in which axes became a very important part of that religion. Axes were found accompanying many burials. The heads of these axes excavated were made of either sandstone and/or chalk, which were too soft to cut anything. I could not, however, find the significance of the axe. Some scientists have concluded that the axe placed in each grave was to help the person's soul clear their path to their final spiritual destination. This example is very similar to the burial practices to the Hongshan culture. Various items made of jade accompanied human remains in their graves.

Wealth was not a strong ideal in the secondary Neolithic. Many have deduced that wealth was established by the amount of cattle someone owned. Obviously, the more cattle, the richer the person was. With this speculation, it is thought that neighbouring tribes might have raided areas, such as Windmill Hill, for the purposes of obtaining cattle. It is assumed, though, that this time period was a very peaceful one. The axes were not battle axes. As time went on, more tools were created, such as the bow and arrow. The evidence of arrowhead findings at Windmill Hill may attribute to the growing technique of hunting.

This perhaps could be called the First Industrial Revolution as large quantities of stone axes, antler combs and pottery were in common use. From the quality of finds we can determine that these were produced by persons skilled in their production rather than making one-off items for personal use the quality of which would have been rather crude. If items were in skilled production then we can also assume that a form of trading was also taking place. Groups living  together and trading creates wealth and power whether they liked it or not, after all someone has to be in charge! It is however this fact that allowed for the creation of the first public works - Long Barrows, Round Barrows, Monoliths, Megaliths, Henges and the really spectacular ones like Avebury Circle and Silbury Hill.

A panoramic image of Silbury Hill

A view, looking east, of Silbury Hill

At the very end of the Neolithic Period, just as work commenced on Stonehenge, the first metals appear although not in common use until the beginning of the Bronze Age. Copper and bronze artefacts have been found as grave goods in Britain dating as far back as 5000 years ago.