Editing History of England (section)

===Stone Age===
{{Main article|Neolithic British Isles}}
[[File:Stonehenge Closeup.jpg|thumb|[[Stonehenge]], erected in several stages from c.3000–2500 BC]]

The time from Britain's first inhabitation until the [[Last Glacial Maximum]] is known as the Old Stone Age, or [[Palaeolithic|Palaeolithic era]]. Archaeological evidence indicates that what was to become England was colonised by humans long before the rest of the British Isles because of its more hospitable climate between and during the various [[glacial period]]s of the distant past. This earliest evidence, from Happisburgh in Norfolk, includes the oldest hominid artefacts found in Britain, and points to dates of more than 800,000 [[Before Present|RCYBP]].<ref name="alexburg"/> These earliest inhabitants were [[hunter-gatherer]]s. Low sea-levels meant that Britain was attached to the continent for much of this earliest period of history, and varying temperatures over tens of thousands of years meant that it was not always inhabited.<ref name="Francis Pryor 2003">Francis Pryor, ''Britain BC'', 2003.</ref>

[[File:Silbury 1.jpg|thumb|[[Silbury Hill]], c. 2400 BC]]

England has been continuously inhabited since the last Ice Age ended around 9000&nbsp;BC, the beginning of the Middle Stone Age, or [[Mesolithic|Mesolithic era]]. Rising sea-levels cut off Britain from the continent for the last time around 6500&nbsp;BC. The population by then, as in the rest of the world, was exclusively [[anatomically modern humans]], and the evidence suggests that their societies were increasingly complex and they were manipulating their environment and prey in new ways, possibly selective burning of then omnipresent woodland to create clearings for herds to gather and then hunt them. Hunting was mainly done with simple projectile weapons such as [[javelin]] and possibly [[sling (weapon)|sling]]. Bow and arrow was known in Western Europe since at least 9000&nbsp;BC. The climate continued to warm and the population probably rose.<ref>V Gaffney, S Fitch and D Smith 2009, ''Europe's Lost World: The Rediscovery of Doggerland''.</ref>

The New Stone Age, or [[Neolithic British Isles|Neolithic era]], began with the introduction of farming, ultimately from the Middle East, around 4000&nbsp;BC. It is not known whether this was caused by a substantial folk movement or native adoption of foreign practices or both. People began to lead a more settled lifestyle. Monumental collective tombs were built for the dead in the form of chambered cairns and long barrows. Towards the end of the period, other kinds of monumental stone alignments begin to appear, such as Stonehenge; their cosmic alignments show a preoccupation with the sky and planets. Flint technology produced a number of highly artistic pieces as well as purely practical. More extensive woodland clearance was done for fields and pastures. The [[Sweet Track]] in the [[Somerset Levels]] is one of the oldest [[timber trackway]]s known in Northern Europe and among the oldest roads in the world, dated by [[dendrochronology]] to the winter of 3807–3806&nbsp;BC; it is thought to have been a primarily religious structure.<ref name="Francis Pryor 2003"/> Archaeological evidence from [[North Yorkshire]] indicates that salt was being manufactured there in the Neolithic.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-31|title=How new archaeological discovery in Yorkshire could rewrite British prehistory|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/yorkshire-salt-archaeology-neolithic-britain-b1824440.html|access-date=2021-04-19|website=The Independent|language=en}}</ref>