Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping, and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today all about Stone Age Britain.

So shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to place some of the types of evidence archaeologists have found from the different periods of the Stone Age in Britain on a timeline.

To help you with this lesson, I would like to introduce you to some keywords.

We'll be using these keywords during the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these words down.

The keywords we'll be using today are Stone Age, artefact, archaeologist, and dated.

I'm going to say those again, and I would like you to repeat them after me.

Stone Age, artefact, archaeologist, dated.

Well done.

Let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean.

Here are some definitions.

The period in history, when humans use stone to make tools, is called the Stone Age.

An artefact is an item made by humans in the past.

An archaeologist studies human history by searching for artefacts.

When an item is dated, the time period it was made in is identified.

Pause the video here to make a note of the keywords, and when you are ready to continue, press Play.

These are the learning cycles that we'll be working through together in today's lesson.

Firstly, we're going to explore artefacts from the Stone Age.

The Stone Age is a time in history when humans used stone tools.

It was a very long time ago.

You can see it here on the timeline, it started around 2 million years ago, and it ended around 4,000 years ago.

Now the Stone Age is split up into three parts.

Can you remember what those parts were? That's right.

The Paleolithic era, the Mesolithic era, and the Neolithic era.

Artefacts are items made by humans in the past.

There are lots of different types of artefacts, and artefacts are often discovered by archaeologists at excavation sites.

Artefacts can provide clues about what life was like in the past.

Have a look at that image on screen.

Can you see what those archaeologists are doing at that excavation site? What can you see? Let's pause to check our understanding.

So can you match the word to the definition? We have archaeologist, artefacts, and excavation site.

So those are the words, and then we have these definitions.

An item made by humans in the past, someone who studies human history, and a place where digging to find items happens.

Pause the video and have a chat to your partner, or if you'd like to, you could write the words down with the definition next to them.

And when you are ready, restart the video to find out the answers.

Let's have a look, shall we? So an archaeologist is someone who studies human history, an artefact is an item made by humans in the past, and an excavation site is a place where digging to find items happens.

Well done if you match those correctly.

Let's have a look at these Stone Age artefacts.

What do you think they're used for? Have a good look at those images on screen.

Hmm.

We have a Neolithic axe, stone arrowheads, an antler hammer, and a Paleolithic hand axe.

So what do you think they were used for? And what do you think they were made from? Have a little think, chat to your partner.

Looking at each of those four artefacts, what do you think they were used for and what were they made from? Hmm, there might be some clues in the words of those artefacts.

Well, the Neolithic axe is made from polished stone and wood, and it's used to cut and chop.

The stone arrowheads are made from flint and attached to wooden spears and arrows for hunting.

An antler hammer is made from a reindeer antler, and it's used to chip flint and make stone tools.

And the Paleolithic hand axe is made from flint and held in the hand, and it's used for cutting and chopping.

Here are some more Stone Age artefacts.

What do you think these are? Have a really good look.

What could they be made from? What do you think they are for? If you'd like to, you could pause the video and have a chat to your partner, and restart it when you are ready.

So the first one is a bone necklace, a necklace made from bone.

And the second one is a stone necklace.

Did you think that's what they were? Well done if you guess that.

So the bone necklace, Neolithic humans made necklaces and jewelry from animal bones and their teeth.

And during the Neolithic era, decorative jewelry was also made from stone.

What do you think these Stone Age artefacts are? Hmm, I think we might have seen one of these already.

The first one is pottery, and the second one is shaped stones.

Hmm, I wonder what the shaped stones are for.

What do you think they were used for? And what do you think they were made from? Let's find out.

So Neolithic humans use clay to make pots for storing and cooking food.

Now the shaped stones, these two pieces of stone in the image, they're used to grind wheat into flour.

Now we've almost come to the end of the first part of this lesson, and this is your first learning task.

I would like you to choose an artefact that we've looked at and draw a picture of it.

I'd then like you to write a label so it can be displayed in a museum.

So what we need to know is what the artefact is, what it's made from, and what it was used for.

So I'd like you to pause the video and take a pen and paper, draw the artefact that you would like to label, and then create a label for it that would be displayed in a museum.

Pause the video and take as much time as you'd like to draw that and to label it, and then restart when you are ready.

How did that go? Which artefact did you choose? Well, I decided to draw an arrowhead.

So this is an arrowhead.

It is made from flint.

It was used for hunting.

So you could have done something similar.

Well done for drawing your artefact and labeling it for a museum.

We're going to move on to the second part of the lesson now.

We're going to look at which era the artefacts came from.

Archaeologists use a combination of different ways to identify which era something is from so that it can be dated.

It's difficult to say exactly when an artefact is from, and because of this, archaeologists often date artefacts approximately.

Hmm, I wonder what they're finding at that excavation site there.

Archaeologists use different ways to estimate how old an artefact is.

The types of rocks and soils an artefact is found in provide archaeologists with clues.

For items that were once living, scientific tests can be used to help with dating an artefact.

So if an artefact is from an animal, the bones can help archaeologists find out how old it is.

Let's take a moment to pause.

When an archaeologist dates an artefact, the date is, A, exact, B, approximate, or C, precise.

Talk to your partner.

What do you think? Is it A, B, or C? When an archaeologist dates an artefact, the date is approximate.

Well done.

That's because archaeologists use a variety of ways to estimate an approximate date.

It is not exact or precise.

So the Stone Age is a time in history when humans used stone tools.

It's split into three different eras.

We've got the Paleolithic era, the Mesolithic era, and the Neolithic era.

Which era do you think the most artefacts have been dated to? Hmm.

Do you think it was a Paleolithic era, the Mesolithic era, or the Neolithic era? Archaeologists have found the most artefacts from the more recent era of the Stone Age.

That's called the Neolithic era.

So you can see which artefacts were found in the Paleolithic era, the hand axe and the antler hammer.

In the Mesolithic era with the stone arrowheads.

But then in the Neolithic era, lots of different artefacts have been found.

Pottery, the stones, the Neolithic axe, the stone necklace, and the bone necklace.

So let's quickly check our understanding.

Which era have archaeologists found the most artefacts from? Is it, A, the Paleolithic era, B, the Mesolithic era, or C, the Neolithic era? If you thought it was the Neolithic era, you're absolutely right, well done.

So what changes do the artefacts show? Well, the simple hand axes and antler hammers from the Paleolithic era show that humans were hunter-gatherers.

And in the Mesolithic era, humans were still hunter-gatherers, but had developed spears as well as bows and arrows to hunt more efficiently.

And by the Neolithic era, humans were farmers.

Artefacts such as the grinding stones show they made flour and pottery tells us that they stored and cooked food.

Now we've nearly come to the end of this lesson, so I'd like to summarize what we have learned.

Archaeologists have discovered many different artefacts from across the Stone Age.

The types of artefacts found show the changes that have been taken place throughout the period.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarize what we have learned about significant Stone Age artefacts.

Archaeologists have discovered many different artefacts from across the Stone Age.

The types of artefacts found show the changes that have taken place throughout the period.

Archaeologists have found more artefacts from the more recent parts of the Stone Age.

And different types of artefacts can be dated to different parts of the Stone Age.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson, and I really enjoyed learning this unit with you.