Editing England (section)

=== Prehistory ===
{{Main|Prehistoric Britain}}
[[File:Stonehenge, Condado de Wiltshire, Inglaterra, 2014-08-12, DD 18.JPG|alt=Sun shining through row of upright standing stones with other stones horizontally on the top.|thumb|[[Stonehenge]], a [[Neolithic]] monument]]

[[File:London - British Museum - 2453.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|The [[Battersea Shield]] is one of the most significant pieces of ancient [[Celtic art]] found in Britain.]]
The earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of ''[[Homo antecessor]]'', dating to about 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000&nbsp;years ago.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 May 2007 |title=500,000 BC&nbsp;– Boxgrove |url=http://www.archaeology.co.uk/the-timeline-of-britain/boxgrove.htm |access-date=20 December 2010 |website=Current Archaeology |publisher=Current Publishing}}</ref> Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the [[Upper Paleolithic]] period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Palaeolithic Archaeology Teaching Resource Box |url=http://www.personal.rdg.ac.uk/~sgs04rh/SWRivers/Palaeolithic%20Archaeology%20Teaching%20Resource%20Box_Lifestyles_Basic.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505012542/http://www.personal.rdg.ac.uk/~sgs04rh/SWRivers/Palaeolithic%20Archaeology%20Teaching%20Resource%20Box_Lifestyles_Basic.pdf |archive-date=5 May 2021 |access-date=20 December 2010 |publisher=Palaeolithic Rivers of South-West Britain Project (2006)}}; {{Cite web |title=Chalk east |url=http://www.geo-east.org.uk/special_projects/eco_culture.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305032854/http://www.geo-east.org.uk/special_projects/eco_culture.htm |archive-date=5 March 2011 |access-date=20 December 2010 |publisher=A Geo East Project}}</ref> After the [[Last glacial period|last ice age]] only large mammals such as [[mammoth]]s, [[bison]] and [[woolly rhinoceros]] remained. Roughly 11,000&nbsp;years ago, when the [[ice sheets]] began to recede, humans repopulated the area; genetic research suggests they came from the northern part of the [[Iberian Peninsula]].{{Sfn|Oppenheimer|2006|p=173}} The sea level was lower than the present day and Britain was connected by [[land bridge]] to Ireland and [[Eurasia]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tertiary Rivers: Tectonic and structural background |url=http://www.qpg.geog.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/tertiaryrivers/tectonics.html |access-date=9 September 2009 |publisher=University of Cambridge}}</ref>
As the seas rose, it was separated from Ireland 10,000&nbsp;years ago and from Eurasia two millennia later.

The [[Beaker culture]] arrived around 2,500&nbsp;BC, introducing drinking and food vessels constructed from clay, as well as vessels used as reduction pots to smelt copper ores.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Function and significance of Bell Beaker pottery according to data from residue analyses |url=http://tp.revistas.csic.es/index.php/tp/article/viewFile/5/5 |access-date=21 December 2010}}</ref> It was during this time that major [[Neolithic]] monuments such as [[Stonehenge]] (phase III) and [[Avebury]] were constructed. By heating together tin and copper, which were in abundance in the area, the Beaker culture people made [[bronze]], and later iron from iron ores. The development of iron [[smelting]] allowed the construction of better [[plough]]s, advancing agriculture (for instance, with [[Celtic field]]s), as well as the production of more effective weapons.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Reid |first=Struan |url={{GBurl |id=bn88JPk_Fr0C |q=inventions in trade}} |title=Inventions and Trade. P.8 |date=1994 |publisher=James Lorimer & Company |isbn=978-0-921921-30-1 |access-date=23 December 2010}}</ref>

During the [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]], [[Celts|Celtic culture]], deriving from the [[Hallstatt culture|Hallstatt]] and [[La Tène culture]]s, arrived from Central Europe. [[British language (Celtic)|Brythonic]] was the spoken language during this time. Society was tribal; according to [[Ptolemy]]'s {{Lang|la|[[Geographia]]}} there were around 20 tribes in the area. Like other regions on the edge of the Empire, Britain had long enjoyed trading links with the Romans. Julius Caesar of the [[Roman Republic]] attempted to [[Caesar's invasions of Britain|invade twice]] in 55&nbsp;BC; although largely unsuccessful, he managed to set up a [[Roman client kingdoms in Britain|client king]] from the [[Trinovantes]].