Knapton’s Early History

The Stone Age is the first period in the three-age system frequently used in archaeology to divide the timeline of human technological prehistory into functional periods and it too is commonly divided into three distinct periods;

1. Paleolithic Age – 2.5 million years ago – 10,000BC (roughly)
   Also referred to as the Early / Old Stone Age, the Paleolithic age encompasses the earliest period of human development when they grouped together in small societies such as bands and subsisted by gathering plants, fishing, and hunting or scavenging wild animals.  They lived in caves or simple huts or tepees and were hunters and gatherers, using basic wood, bone and, characteristically, knapped stone tools such as crude stone axes, for hunting birds and wild animals.   The ancient humans during this period were also the first to leave behind art. They used combinations of minerals, ochres, burnt bone meal and charcoal mixed into water, blood, animal fats and tree saps to etch humans, animals and signs. They also carved small figurines from stones, clay, bones and antlers. 
2. Mesolithic Age – 10,000BC to 8,000BC (roughly)
   Basically meaning Middle Stone Age , this was a transitional period with the development of more sophisticated and typically smaller lithic tools and weapons than the heavy-chipped equivalents typical of the Paleolithic.   These finer tools were now also polished and sometimes crafted with points and attached to antlers, bone or wood to serve as spears and arrows.   It is broadly associated with a decline in the group hunting of large animals in favour of a broader hunter-gatherer way of life.   They often lived nomadically in camps near rivers and other bodies of water and depending on the region, some use of pottery and textiles may be found in sites allocated to the Mesolithic.   Agriculture was introduced during this time, which led to more permanent settlements in villages but generally indications of agriculture are taken as marking transition into the Neolithic Age. 
3. Neolithic Age – 8,000BC to 3000BC (roughly)
   Also referred to as the Late Stone Age, this reflects the progression of behavioural and cultural characteristics and changes, above all the introduction of farming and use of domesticated animals as the ancient humans switched from hunter/gatherer mode to agriculture and food production. They domesticated animals and cultivated cereal grains. They used polished hand axes, adzes for ploughing and tilling the land and started to settle in the plains. Advancements were made not only in tools but also in farming, home construction and art, including pottery, sewing and weaving.

3,000BC to 1,300 BC (roughly)
An ancient civilisation is deemed to be part of the Bronze Age because it either discovered bronze (by smelting its own copper and alloying it with tin, arsenic, or other metals) or traded other items for bronze from production areas elsewhere.

Bronze was harder and more durable than other metals available at the time, allowing Bronze Age civilisations to gain a technological advantage for weapons and tools as the harder metal replaced its stone predecessors, and helped spark innovations including the ox-drawn plow and the wheel.

This time period also brought advances in architecture and art, including the invention of the potter’s wheel, and textiles – clothing consisted of mostly wool items such as skirts, kilts, tunics and cloaks. Home dwellings morphed to so-called roundhouses, consisting of a circular stone wall with a thatched or turf roof, complete with a fireplace or hearth, and more villages and cities began to form.

Organized government, law and warfare, as well as beginnings of religion, also came into play during the Bronze Age, perhaps most notably relating to the ancient Egyptians who built the pyramids during this time. The earliest written accounts, including Egyptian hieroglyphs and petroglyphs (rock engravings), are also dated to this era.

1300BC to 550BC (roughly)
The Iron Age is defined by archaeological convention and begins locally when the production of iron or steel has advanced to the point where iron tools and weapons replace their bronze equivalents in common use.
At the time, the metal was seen as more precious than gold, and wrought iron (which would be replaced by steel with the advent of smelting iron) was easier to manufacture than bronze.   More widespread use of iron led to improved steel-making technology at a lower cost. Thus, even when tin became available again, iron was cheaper, stronger and lighter, and forged iron implements superseded cast bronze tools permanently.

Along with mass production of steel tools and weapons, the age is characterised by an elaboration of designs in weapons, implements, and utensils.  These are no longer cast but hammered into shape, and decoration is elaborate and curvilinear rather than simple rectilinear

It saw even further advances in architecture, with four-room homes, some complete with stables for animals, joining more rudimentary hill forts, as well as royal palaces, temples and other religious structures.

Early city planning also took place, with blocks of homes being erected along paved or cobblestone streets and water systems put into place.