Bronze Age
First metal tools
Please understand that this is a much simplified view of the Bronze age
At the end of the Neolithic period, around 4000 years ago (2000 BC), there was a people who arrived in Britain that we now call 'Beaker', after the distinctive pottery that they were buried with. These people brought with them the skill and knowledge of producing and using bronze.
Up to then, the only metal in use was gold, which is all right for decoration, but not hard enough for anything else. Bronze was a metal hard enough to hold an edge, and that meant a revolution in tools and weapons.
That wasn't all, the beaker culture made such an impact that it even changed one of the most important ritual activities of humans, burials.
During the Neolithic, the burial rights tended to be collective, i.e.. All members of a group being buried together over a long period, in one site (long barrows, chamber tombs etc.). All of that changed. The bronze age people started to bury individuals in their own graves, with a mound raised over each burial. (Bowl, bell, pond, disc, saucer)
By 1400 BC the burial practices changed again with the disappearance of Beaker pottery, and this suggests a new culture that is defined as the Wessex culture.
During the following 800 years the population expanded, the horse was domesticated, warfare became definable with weapons in use, that were not designed for hunting!
By 600 BC we see distinct influence from the continent, with evidence of styles and technologies of the Hallstatt C culture.
It was during the Bronzeage that the most famous British prehistoric structure was built - it was Stonehenge. If you would like a virtual walk around Stonehenge, click here.