Britain and the Vanished cultures

Britain's position has made a powerful impact on the way that people live and what they do from the early ages until present time. Insularity and the ocean's proximity made Britain develop in its unique way, made its people become explorers, traders and colonists to the shores of the two hemispheres, transforming Britain from a world margin into a centre of civilization. The island offered shelter to its inhabitants, saving them from many dangers, and, not incidentally, it is said that "Britain's history and its strong national scene have been shaped by sea".

The first traces of civilization are dated back 50.000 years ago, more before Homo sapiens. This culture is long gone but had a strong impact and importance on how we now know life. They are Britain's ancestors and the first people that set foot there. Today, if you walk through London just think that you might be stepping on a footprint of the Homo heidelbergensis.

They discovered the hand axe and other tools used by hunters. After them, different types of inhabitants appear to have populated the land. Some came from Northern and Eastern Europe and others from the rest of the Europe and also Africa. These people were, like in our country, nomads; continually in search of food which was to be found only seasonally and locally.

I have noticed that a vast part of the changes are caused by climatic or relief changes. So, after the retreat of the Ice Age, after the revival of the nature people started agriculture and had the opportunity of hunting different animals. This has determined some to settle down in certain areas. More diversified tools started to take shape. Several settlements can still be found in Yorkshire. You can view there, in certain museums the ancient tools and type of houses.

The first constructions were built using earth, timber and stone, with some differences between the north and south regions. As you surely know, in Ancient Egypt, the most important marks of civilization and development are the pyramids - tombs for the pharaohs. In England as well burial places represent an important landmark of the vanished cultures (discovered at Fussells's Lodge, Wiltshire).

As time went on, especially in the west of England emigrants from the Iberian Peninsula brought new seeds of plants and started domesticating animals (wheat and barley, pigs and sheep). Also new tools were manufactured from flint and suitable volcanic rock. They were made with great care (stone axes, flint knives). Pottery also existed and in the late Neolithic period it evolved and became "of good quality, hard ware, made in baggy or shouldered, usually round-based, shapes (possibly derived from leather containers), plain or sparingly decorated round the upper part with incised lines and impressed dots and very occasionally with impressions of short lengths of twisted cord" [A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 1 - J.S. Cockburn, H.P.F. King, K.G.T. McDonnell- 1969]

The famous "henges", are also known to be built in the later Neolithic period, around 2500 B.C. These monuments consisted of great circles of earth banks and ditches with wooden buildings and stone circles inside. Their purpose was of religious nature but it also represented a political and economic power centre for the widely scattered groups of people.

In the second millennium, different looking people came from Low Countries and the middle Rhine areas. They were round-headed, strongly built and taller people than the Neolithic Britons.

This new people brought along with them a new culture (the Beaker culture) that consisted of a new attitude to the individual, more concern about him, and the appearance of an elite group. They spoke an Indo-European language which was introduced on the island for the first time.

Towards the later Bronze Age, new culture emerged, as a distinct regional tradition; it is known as the Wessex Culture, and it is considered different from the old Beaker one due to the rich artifacts rather than military equipment discovered in the Beaker tombs.

The exact characteristics of these old and now vanished cultures are hard to be explained because many artifacts are in a bad condition and many traces of these cultures have disappeared for good due to time erosion. Howsoever the situation, one thing is for sure, they are Britain's ancestors, the first men that spread through the land and made the first and very important discoveries. In my opinion, I think that it is normal that their traces have disappeared and the remains of this culture can only be found in museums. I am sure that over 50.000 years, today's culture will also be remembered just in books and museums and many things will be different. So, I think that today's Britain people ought to be proud with their ancestor and remember them with dignity.