The prehistory of Cornwall spans an extensive timeframe, beginning with the earliest evidence for archaic human presence in Cornwall c. 225,000 years ago and extending to the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 CE. During this period, which encompasses the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age, Cornwall transformed from a sparsely populated hunter-gatherer society reliant on rudimentary stone tools to an agricultural society characterized by developed metallurgical practices, expansive trade networks, and increasingly complex social structures.
During the Palaeolithic era, spanning from c. 225,000 to c. 10,000 years ago, traces of human occupation include lithic fragments and tools such as handaxes, providing limited insights into early and perhaps only intermittent human activity in Cornwall. The subsequent Mesolithic period, from c. 10,000–4000 BCE, provides more substantial evidence of a permanent human presence. This era is characterized by advances in stone tool technology that allowed the Mesolithic hunter-gatherer population of Cornwall to exploit the newly formed woodland environment and additional marine and freshwater resources that resulted from the warmer temperatures and rising sea levels of the Holocene following the Last Glacial Maximum. The Neolithic era, c. 4000–2400 BCE, saw significant cultural developments, including the introduction of the earliest pottery, limited agriculture, and the construction of megalithic monuments. Early farming in Cornwall primarily focused on animal husbandry, with only minimal crop cultivation. Cornish greenstone was used to manufacture stone axes, which were widely exported across Britain, while gabbroic clay from the Lizard was used extensively for ceramic production. In exchange, flint and axes were imported from other parts of Britain, along with jadeite axes from the European mainland. The Bronze Age, c. 2400–800 BCE, marked the emergence of metalworking, with bronze utilized to manufacture tools, weapons, and ornaments. Megalithic monument construction reached its peak in the Early Bronze Age, while Cornwall's natural resources, particularly tin, gold, and gabbroic clay, played an important role in regional and European trade networks. Large numbers of roundhouse villages were built across Cornwall, and by the Middle Bronze Age the region had become a fully agricultural society. The Iron Age, c. 800 BCE – 43 CE, witnessed further social and technological developments, together with climatic changes that resulted in colder and wetter conditions for much of this period. Iron replaced bronze as the metal used in tool and weapon manufacture, and large numbers of fortified sites like rounds, hillforts, and cliff castles, which perhaps served as local power centres, were built by Cornwall's growing population. The arrival of the Romans in 43 CE traditionally marks the conclusion of the prehistoric period in Cornwall.
Palaeolithic (c. 700,000–10,000 BP)
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Chronology and overview
The Palaeolithic in Britain spans the period from the earliest archaic human presence in Britain, from at least 780,000 years ago, to the beginning of the Mesolithic, approximately 10,000 years ago. The Palaeolithic archaeological period falls within the Pleistocene geological epoch, which has a complex history of changing climatic conditions and fluctuating sea levels over an extensive period. During the Last Glacial Maximum human populations abandoned Britain, but by 16,000 years ago most of Southern Britain was again free from ice, and humans returned to Southwestern Britain shortly after, c. 15,500 BP. Some evidence, such as the erratic boulders found on Cornwall's north and south coasts, may suggest the earlier presence of glacial ice in Cornwall. Ancient DNA research indicates that two distinct populations inhabited Britain in the Late Glacial Period: one group related to the c. 15,000 year old Goyet-Q2 individual from the Goyet Caves in Belgium, believed to have expanded from a Southwest European refugium, and a second group related to the c. 14,000 year old Western Hunter-Gatherer individual from Villabruna, Italy, who exhibited greater affinity to Near Eastern populations. This second ancestry profile is predominant in British Mesolithic individuals. Direct evidence for Palaeolithic human presence in Cornwall is limited, suggesting only intermittent activity. Sites may have been lost due to subsequent sea level rises and erosion, with the absence of identified cave or rock shelters possibly attributable to insufficient examination of potential upland shelters. The few identified Palaeolithic findspots in Cornwall consist predominantly of surface stone scatters, along with a few examples of stone tools. Most of these are concentrated in the far south west. Booby's Bay, near Trevose Head on the north coast, has been interpreted as the possible site of an Upper Palaeolithic community, with evidence for flintworking and a hearth. Notable finds include an Upper Palaeolithic Acheulian flint handaxe found at Lower Leha, St Buryan potentially dating to around 200,000–225,000 BCE, and a Middle Palaeolithic Levallois core implement at Higher Polcoverack Farm, St Keverne. Other discoveries include hand axes from Constantine, Grade-Ruan, and Coverack, as well as broken handaxes from Ladock and Lanhydrock. At Landewednack, multiple findspots yielded a complete handaxe, a broken handaxe, a handaxe fragment, and an incomplete biface. The only possible evidence for Upper Palaeolithic human activity in the Isles of Scilly, which was at the time still connected to the mainland, consists of a curved-backed 'penknife' point blade, assuming this object can be correctly assigned to this period.
Mesolithic (c. 9660–4000 BCE)
Chronology and overview
The Mesolithic, which follows the Upper Palaeolithic and ends with the introduction of farming, had a warmer climate that resulted in rising sea and river levels and the expansion of woodland, as well as significant changes in stone tool technology. In contrast with the preceding Palaeolithic period, there is credible evidence for a permanent human presence in Cornwall during the Mesolithic. Semi-nomadic hunter gatherers, who crafted tools from stone and probably other organic materials, sustained themselves through seasonal hunting, fishing and gathering. There is an apparent preference for coastal areas, which were exploited for their plentiful food resources.
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