Teach Primary 18.8

‘Stone Age to Iron Age’ is often the first history topic studied in KS2 and can be the most challenging. It covers a vast period, and our only clues as to what life was like come from archaeological remains. Our picture of Stone Age people is often based on early Palaeolithic period – hunter-gatherers who lived in caves and hunted mammoths. But recent discoveries at Star Carr, a Mesolithic site in North Yorkshire, show a nomadic society that made sophisticated tools and took part in rituals. Visit tinyurl.com/ tp-CarrPlaylist and tinyurl.com/tp-StarCarr for more information about the Star Carr site. 1 | TOOLS The unique waterlogged conditions at Star Carr, and the preservation of artefacts there, have revealed a window into Mesolithic technology. Tools were made of stone, wood, bone or antler, and it took great skill to create them. Show children an image of an antler harpoon point (e.g. tinyurl.com/tp-harpoon ) . Ask them what they think it might have been used for, what it is made of, and what skills would have been required to make it. There would have been a lot of processes involved in designing and creating this tool: from hunting and killing the deer, to removing and shaping the antler and then attaching it to a handle to use for fishing. Other tools include flint blades, arrow tips, and scrapers for preparing animal skins. 2 | HOUSES Archaeologists found evidence of post holes in the soil at Star Carr – these are the footprints of buildings. Researchers don’t know exactly what the buildings would have looked like, but a reconstruction by the Yorkshire Museum and Department of Archaeology at the University of York ( tinyurl.com/tp-CarrHouse ) has been built using materials that could have been gathered from the local landscape. Show the children the picture START HERE MAIN LESSON WHAT THEY’LL LEARN l How we know what life was like in the Mesolithic period l What Star Carr tells us about Mesolithic settlements l What tools people used for hunting, fishing and gathering food l What antler headdresses might have been used for History The Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) started in Britain after the last ice age, around 11,000 BC. The finds at Star Carr provide a unique insight into life at this time and show that people were building homes, making tools from stone, bone and antler, and carrying out rituals. They were hunter-gatherers, moving around to find sources of food. Settlements enabled them to base themselves in places where food was abundant for long periods of time, hunting animals, birds and fish. They were skilful toolmakers, and there’s evidence of items being used in rituals and as offerings. Star Carr – a glimpse of Mesolithic life Guided by Rachel Bruce , give children an insight into the Middle Stone Age through studying archaeological finds KS2 LESSON PLAN @Rachelthebruce1 90 | www.teachwire.net