Farming in ancient times
10,000 - 4,000 BC
The local landscape was covered in dense deciduous woodland from 10,000 - 4,000 BC. Local people were hunter-gatherers and occupied an area about 400 kmē .
People would have moved around within this area. Summer camps would have been by the River Thames and winter sites on higher ground. Wild cattle (aurochs), deer, wild pigs, smaller game were hunted and fish caught from the River Thames.
Neolithic farmers (4000-2200 BC)
Neolithic farmers (4000-2200 BC) introduced domesticated cattle (much smaller than aurochs), sheep and cereal cultivation to Britain.
They began to make clearings in the woodland for their animals and cereal plots. There is no evidence of permanent farms, and the land was mostly wooded. People still moved around within a large territory, using each clearing for a year or two, then moving on to another while the ground recovered.
Cereals are only found in small quantities, so may have been grown to make alcoholic drinks, not as a staple for bread. Towards the end of this period beech trees were introduced.
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