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10,000 Years BC Stone Age

KS2 History - The Stone Age

Teaching & Learning Resources
Visit our YouTube channel to view a small sample of our KS2 learning support videos
or download them free from TES Resources

Over 1800 downloads of our free TES resources so far...

 


 

Stone Age images

 

Stone Age image gallery & support resources

Selected contents from our KS2 workshop support pack in Zipfile format. Schools can place these files on their ICT network/VLE, or parents can download them directly. You do not have to have booked one of our workshops to download this material.

Dealing predominantly with the Old Stone Age (Palaeolithic) it includes over 200 original photo images, with many taken on our visits to prehistoric sites and museums across The UK and Europe. Topics including clothing, tools and artefacts, animals, archaeology, chronology, ancient footprints, art and carvings, decoration, shelter, Neanderthals, and the Neolithic. Display graphics are also included, along with a 12,000 year timeline, plus links to this resources page and to other materials. Images have been reduced to a manageable size for inclusion in Word, Powerpoint, or multimedia applications. Please note that we retain all creative copyright on this material, and its redistribution for commercial purposes is not permitted.

Click image to download the free zipfile (60 Mb) direct from our server.

 

KS2 Stone Age Vocabulary

KS2 Stone Age Vocabulary
Sample A4 landscape page

 

KS2 Stone Age Vocabulary - illustrated (Our most popular document download at TES.)

A collection of 55 terms relating to Archaeology and the Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age). Based on the content of our live KS2 workshops. The Old Stone Age is the starting point against which other changes can be most successfully measured, as it was a lengthy pre-agricultural period of nomadic hunter-gatherers, spanning around 99.5% of humankind's story.

Supported by unique and original images including real and replica artefacts, each term has a carefully-researched definition added, based on our specialist knowledge of this period and our experience of teaching about it. Pairs of terms are presented in A4 landscape format ready for printing, and laminating if required.

Can be used for display, reference, or matching exercises, by children in the classroom or for in-school staff training. Available for download in .pdf format.

For non-commercial educational use and display. Text and images creative copyright 10,000 Years BC, Creative Commons no derivatives licence. 

Click images to download this free resource from TES Resources.

 


video

Available on YouTube and/or free download from TES

A small sample of the video units that form part of our KS2 Stone Age Learning Support package for schools in the north west region. To find out more, please visit our homepage.

 

Each short video unit is aimed at viewers aged 7+, is presented live in Stone Age costume with authentic materials, supported with additional images and subtitled key words.

These units are free of tired clip art stone age cartoon stereotypes, and are not Powerpoints.

1920 x 1080 HD resolution .mp4 format, 5 Mbps transfer rate suitable for portable devices, home learning and/or broadcast via Zoom or other conferencing apps.

 

Stone Age art
Stone Age art


Stone Age Art & Artists (12 mins) (Our most popular video download at TES.)

Discovering 4 different types of Stone Age art:

Animals
Portable
Symbols
Hand prints

Based on content from our primary school Stone Age workshops. It includes demonstration of artists’ materials and techniques, and shows images of many different art examples from around Europe.

Click image at left to download from TES Resources, or click logo to view in Stone Age YouTube Channel

 

Stone Age Biface Hand Axe
Stone Age Biface Hand Axe


Prehistory Mysteries No 9 (6 mins) (Our most viewed YouTube video.)

Examining a Flint Biface Hand Axe, a multi-purpose tool, with reference to how they were made. The start of the video is untitled, and opens with the artefact on a rotating display, offered as a 'prehistory mystery'. If the clip is paused before the commentary begins, children can consider and discuss its purpose.

This artefact is illustrated on p16 of the popular children's book Stone Age Boy, and a 3D model is available below.

Click image at left to download from TES Resources, or click logo to view in Stone Age YouTube Channel

 

Stone Age Dame de Brassempouy
Stone Age Dame de Brassempouy


Prehistory Mysteries No 1 (5 mins)

Examining the Dame de Brassempouy female face sculpted from mammoth ivory. The start of the video is untitled, and opens with the artefact on a rotating display, offered as a 'prehistory mystery'. If the clip is paused before the commentary begins, children can consider and discuss its purpose.

This artefact is illustrated on p16 of the popular children's book Stone Age Boy, and a 3D model is available below.

Click image at left to download from TES Resources, or click logo to view in Stone Age YouTube Channel

 

Stone Age La Madeleine Bison
Stone Age La Madeleine Bison


Prehistory Mysteries No 3 (6 mins)

Examining the La Madeleine Bison, a spear thrower fragment sculpted from reindeer antler. The start of the video is untitled, and opens with the artefact on a rotating display, offered as a 'prehistory mystery'. If the clip is paused before the commentary begins, children can consider and discuss its purpose.

This artefact, and a spear thrower in use, are illustrated on p16 of the popular children's book Stone Age Boy, and a 3D model is available below.

Click image at left to download from TES Resources, or click logo to view in Stone Age YouTube Channel

See a short demonstration of how the Bison spear thrower was used, on Terre Mere's YouTube Channel

 

Stone Age Lascaux Lamp
Stone Age Lascaux Lamp


Prehistory Mysteries No 2 (5 mins)

Examining the Lascaux Lamp a prehistoric oil lamp carved from red sandstone, and discovered in the famous painted caves at Lascaux. The start of the video is untitled, and opens with the artefact on a rotating display, offered as a 'prehistory mystery'. If the clip is paused before the commentary begins, children can consider and discuss its purpose.

This artefact is illustrated on p16 of the popular children's book Stone Age Boy.

Click image at left to download from TES Resources, or click logo to view in Stone Age YouTube Channel

 

Stone Age Cordage


Stone Age String (14 mins)

"Lots of strings for lots of things". Five different types of prehistoric cordage and their uses are described and demonstrated, using authentic materials - willow, nettle, rawhide, lime bast, and sinew.

Click image at left to download from TES Resources, or click logo to view in Stone Age YouTube Channel

 

Stone Age Cordage


How To Make Stone Age String (6 mins)

A simple method of making prehistoric style cordage from lime bast is demonstrated.

Willow bark, raffia or artificial sinew could be used by children for the same task.

Click image at left to download from TES Resources, or click logo to view in Stone Age YouTube Channel

 

Prehistory 360 videos (1 min)

A one minute video clip of a replica Stone Age artefact rotating through 360 degrees then finishing on a still image with its materials labelled. By pausing the final still image it can be used as a subject for drawing or descriptive writing.

 

Stone Age Knife

 

Stone Age knife

A replica Stone Age knife with a flint blade, reindeer antler handle, natural adhesive and binding.

Click image at left to download from TES Resources, or click logo to view in Stone Age YouTube Channel


Stone Age Awl or Borer

 

Stone Age awl/borer

A replica Stone Age awl/borer with a flint blade, red deer antler handle, natural adhesive and binding.

Click image at left to download this resource from the TES website

 

Stone Age Spear

 

Stone Age spear point

A replica Stone Age spear point with a flint tip, wooden shaft, natural adhesive and binding.

Click image at left to download from TES Resources, or click logo to view in Stone Age YouTube Channel

 

Stone Age Dart

Stone Age dart point

A replica Stone Age dart point with a flint tip, wooden shaft, natural adhesive and bindings.

Click image at left to download from TES Resources, or click logo to view in Stone Age YouTube Channel

 


For teachers & Educators

 

Surviving The Stone Age

 

Surviving The Stone Age (Video, 1 hr) our live presentation at the 2019 Historical Association Conference

Dispelling the popular myths and stereotypes of the Old Stone Age and addressing how you can survive teaching the Stone Age by avoiding some of the more common traps and pitfalls. It raises awareness of how prehistoric people survived the Stone Age, and introduces hands on learning opportunities to engage learners in developing their understanding of the period.

Available free to HA members on the HA website - Click/tap image to link to the video.

 

knock

 

Knocking The Flintstones on the Head (pdf document)

Ten popular misconceptions about the Stone Age and how to avoid them. Compiled as a short free guide for those who are completely new to teaching this topic, and (subject leaders) for those on your team who maybe need to give it a fresh look(!) Mercifully short at only a couple of sides of A4, and NOT another Powerpoint. Why miss out on some wonderful learning opportunities by being limited to a cartoon version of the Stone Age?

Click/tap image to download the file (117 Kb) direct from our server.

 

Inspire Education

Inspire education
Screenshots of Palaeolithic and
Iron Age scenes, two of five from
prehistory. Later History scenes are also available.

 

Interactive web-based learning platform

If you are considering an online learning approach for your pupils, Inspire Education offers a possible solution.

They provide an immersive 3D environment where children interact with characters and artefacts across time and location to broaden their knowledge, make connections, and deepen their understanding of different topics.

Included within their platform for the KS2 STEM/Foundation subjects are five animated prehistoric scenes for History teaching that follow the evolution of a landscape and its inhabitants from the Palaeolithic through to the Iron Age, with integrated lessons, research tasks, source materials, links and a variety of other learning activities. They also cover many other historical foundation subjects and topics.

 

To find out more, click/tap the images to link to Inspire Education's homepage.

 



3D Stone Age Artefact Models
at
Sketchfab
Click/tap image to link to model

 

La Madeleine Bison
Biface Hand Axe
Laurel Leaf Spear Point
Dame de Brassempouy
Pierced Bear Tooth

 

 

 

 

 

 


Recommended Reading

Stone Age Boy by Satoshi Kitamura

Much of our workshop content addresses subject matter featured in the excellent children's storybook Stone Age Boy by Satoshi Kitamura, especially the numerous Stone Age activities shown on pages 15 - 17. This book is a popular learning resource in many of the schools we have visited - if you are not using it already we can highly recommend it for its accurate and accessible depictions of Stone Age lifestyles.

 

ISBN (paperback): 978-1406312195
Publisher: Walker Books

 

Usborne Stone Age

 

Another book which closely matches the material we cover is The Stone Age by Jerome Martin, part of the Usborne Beginner's series. Again, accurate and accessible depictions of living in the Stone Age, backed by expert advice and supported with diagrams and photographs, but not in a story format. Aimed at readers from 5 upwards and in our opinion ideal for KS2 learners.

 

 

ISBN (hardback): 978-1409586418
Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd

 

The Wolf's Boy

 

Moving into fiction, and better suited to older or more advanced KS2 readers, The Wolf's Boy would be a welcome addition to any school library or classroom bookshelf. It follows the fortunes of Kai, born with a disability into a clan of Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers. Kai forms a close bond with a young wolf with whom he shares various adventures in a world very different to ours. Meticulously researched, this story will add to any child's knowledge and understanding of the Old Stone Age, and would help to supplement their formal learning.

 

 

ISBN : 1484725530, 978-1484725535
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

 

secret o fthe forest of lascaux

 

Not always an easy book to find (and best purchased second hand to keep the price down) The Secret of the Forest of Lascaux is an English translation of a French 'bande dessinée' (comic strip) book about the true story of the discovery of the world-famous painted caves of Lascaux by four boys and a dog called Robot in 1940. Supported with text, diagrams photos and other information it follows the story of the cave and its finders from its discovery until their reunion in 1986.

 

 

ISBN: 2-909630-01-3
Publisher: Dolmen Editions

 

when we became humans

 

Human evolution is presented in an accessible and nicely-illustrated style in When We Became Humans. Perhaps more of a reference book than a day to day class text, this would be a welcome addition to any classroom or library for further research into the topic of our early origins and development as a species from small apes through to the Bronze Age and beyond.

 

 

 

ISBN: 978-1-78603-886-9
Publisher: Quarto Publishing plc

 


Internet Links
to the people, places and websites we've found particularly helpful:

 

the school run

The School Run: For a wide selection of hand-picked KS2 Stone Age resources suitable for home and distance learning, with an impressive array of similar materials for all other key stages, subjects and topics


Ancient Arts: Experimental Archaeologists David and Sue Chapman and their team have provided essential training, support and inspiration for the work we're doing. Their courses in ancient technologies are excellent, and their subject knowledge is second to none. In addition to providing training and consultancy they also make and sell high quality replica prehistoric artefacts, a number of which we use in our presentations.


Will Lord's in-depth knowledge of the fine art of flint-knapping (and other key prehistoric experiences) will change any misconceptions you may hold about our Stone Age ancestors forever. To share some of his amazing insights into the prehistoric lifestyle you should give some serious thought to attending one of his courses or one-to-one tuition days. Will is a widely-acknowledged expert in his field and I can personally recommend him to you.


Memma the Cavewoman and her team are based in Colchester, Essex, and have extensive experience of bushcraft, primitive survival and experimental archaeology. They can provide a range of Prehistoric Experiences (including multi-day and multi-school) in East Anglia, London, the South East and much further afield if required. See Memma making a primitive Mesolithic style Axe in this YouTube video (8.5 mins).


Dr James Dilley's devotion to all thing prehistoric from an early age is an inspiration to all - he offers numerous services including live demonstrations, tuition, and a competitively-priced replica artefact shop via his Ancient Craft website and his YouTube channel. Having attended his courses and demonstrations I'm happy to personally recommend him.


The Vézère valley: Many of our flint artefacts were crafted by the late French flint knapper Bernard Ginelli in his workshop in Les-Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil, situated in the beautiful Vézère valley, a UNESCO world heritage site and home of France's National Museum of Prehistory. Containing 147 prehistoric sites and 25 decorated caves, this area is a must-visit location for anyone with a serious interest in prehistory.


Historic Concepts Ltd: For a prehistoric house on your heritage site, who you gonna call? Luke Winter. It was my privilege in 2019 to be a member of the volunteer team who reconstructed a Bronze Age roundhouse for English Heritage at Beeston Castle, led by Luke. If you have such a project in mind, contact him - he not only knows his stuff inside out, he also knows how to get the very best out of a team, and that is a rare skill.


Antiqua Perigord: Stéphane and Rachel's replica prehistoric artefacts business (established by Pascal in 1999) goes from strength to strength. We use their products in our workshops, and as part of our support resource pack for schools. They are popular in many museums and heritage site shops across France.


Rob Dinnis has been especially helpful to us, offering a selection of photos from the Ffynnon Beuno excavation for our resource pack. His Early Modern Human Europe website is well worth a visit, not least for its wonderful 3D models of Ice Age artefacts.


To see some excellent experimentation with replica Paleolithic artefacts, especially different types of spear throwers, I can highly recommend a visit to the Association Terre Merre's YouTube Channel. Their encampment at Bruniquel in France also looks most interesting.


The Musée Archéologie Nationale at Saint Germain-en-Laye near Paris holds an unrivalled collection of Palaeolithic portable art, including the beautiful Dame de Brassempouy, one of the earliest known carved representations of a human face. Their Palaeolithic gallery simply kept us spellbound.


Ew Swart of Connecticut, USA specialises in replica Chalcolithic (Copper Age) tools and other items - we have expanded our handling collection with his excellent Ötzi the Iceman and Amesbury Archer blades, which he sells from his Etsy shop.


Dragon Design (Wales): Many thanks to Tanya for providing the archaeological report quality hand axe illustration that we use in our school workshops, to inspire the archaeological illustrators and draughtspersons of the future!


Could You Survive The Stone Age? Inevitably there is a crossover between ancient prehistoric skills and those required to survive in a wilderness today. For anyone interested in furthering their knowledge and experience of this field I can personally recommend Patrick MacGlinchey's Backwoods Survival School, for courses based in Scotland and further afield. Likewise, to learn more about the wild food resources of our shoreline and woodlands I can also recommend Dave Phillips at Coastal Wanderer in North Wales for further training opportunities. I'm reliably informed that the UK's not to miss summer event for all bushcraft enthusiasts is The Wilderness Gathering.


Council for British Archaeology: An educational charity working throughout the UK to involve people in archaeology and to promote the appreciation and care of the historic environment for the benefit of present and future generations.


Young Archaeologists' Club: A network of UK clubs aimed at engaging aspiring young archaeologists aged 8-16.


The Prehistoric Society is the leading UK society for the promotion of study into our prehistoric past. Their learning resources have been created by Society members and are free to use in the classroom.


The Museum of London has an extensive range of Palaeolithic artefacts on permanent display, and a useful selection of education resources for Primary schools, including a short YouTube video about prehistoric tools and flint knapping, as demonstrated by Will Lord.


Ice Age Journeys is an archaeological project researching Late Upper Palaeolithic activity some 14,000 years ago, at Farndon Fields, Newark on Trent Nottinghamshire UK. Flint tools have been found on open ground between Farndon and Newark, offering a fascinating link to Creswell Crags (Derbyshire), Bradgate Park (Leicestershire), Cheddar Gorge (Somerset) and other sites across Europe. Hunting the Ice Age at Bradgate Park (YouTube 20 mins) shows how their field archaeology team investigated a rare hunter-gatherer site using test pits.


The Ice Age Europe network of heritage sites brings together 20 different Palaeolithic sites and research centres across 7 different European countries, offering places to visit, events, a free magazine and other essential information about our continent's shared heritage.


Proud to be an Archaeologist: BBC Bitesize clip (4:10) aimed at KS1/2 pupils, introducing the work of archaeologists and how the subject has evolved over time. We had an advisory role in the production of this clip series so are proud to recommend it to you.


John Frere was among the first English antiquarians to identify hand axes as being made by our human ancestors, and not being the product of nature. His short illustrated report written in 1797 not only challenged long-held biblical ideas about our distant past, but also comments on the stratigraphic sequence he observed at a clay digging site in Hoxne, Suffolk where his discoveries were made. His findings were considered so unusual that they were disregarded by other antiquarians for a further 50 years.


Urgeschichtliches Museum, Blaubeuren: This museum near Ulm in in Germany displays some of the oldest known examples of sculptures and portable art in the world, including three flutes made from bird bones and mammoth ivory. The 'Schwabian Eve' sculpture is the earliest known sculpture of a complete human body. Another German site that is definitely worth a detour is The Neanderthal Museum at Dusseldorf, for some original and detailed insights into the life and times of our evolutionary relatives.


Should your travels ever take you to Denmark, we can highly recommend the Sagnlandet open air museum at Lejre, which places far greater emphasis on prehistory than many open air sites, and most effectively too. Elsewhere in Denmark, the Stenaldercenter at Ertebolle, a village in Jutland that lends its name to a cultural group of Mesolithic coastal dwellers, and the Moesgaard Museum at Aarhus which has some unique coastal dweller artefacts and displays, along with Graubelle Man, preserved in a peat bog since his untimely death in the Iron Age. Also Denmark's National Museum in Copenhagen displays many of the country's most spectacular prehistoric discoveries.


Woolly Mammoth Autopsy: Details of the Channel 4 TV Documentary about the discovery and examination of 'Buttercup', the Woolly Mammoth preserved in Siberian permafrost for thousands of years on Maly Lyakhovsky Island. To see a life-sized reconstructed skeleton of the mammoth found near Condover in Shropshire, we can recommend a visit to the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre at Craven Arms.


Creswell Crags: Britain's only known Ice Age rock art can be found at this cave site on the Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire border, where remains dating back 10-50,000 years have been discovered. The visitor's centre is open all year, with guided cave art tours running between March and September. Their website includes education resource downloads.


Cave art isn't just about animals: Paleoanthropologist and rock art researcher Genevieve von Petzinger has identified 32 abstract symbols used by Ice Age artists in caves across Europe, suggesting that people had a common method of expression and communication long before the development of alphabetic writing. She summarises her findings in a TED talk. On a related note, numerous later Neolithic to early Bronze Age symbols were engraved into open air rock surfaces around Mont Bego, on France's border with Italy. The Musée des Merveilles in Tende features extensive information about these designs from around the same time as Otzi the Iceman.


Prehistoric Art Timeline: With links to further information about each of the examples shown, this timeline traces the earliest known art back as far as 290,000 years ago.


The earliest known depictions of animals in cave art have been found in Indonesia and dated at over 45,000 years old. For more information see this short BBC News report.


Lascaux II: Discovered in 1940 by local youths when a sealed cave entrance on a French hillside gave way, the stunning Palaeolithic artwork found within has achieved lasting worldwide fame. The Lascaux II visitor site is a faithful underground reconstruction of the original cave, which is now in too fragile a condition to permit large scale visits.


Font-de-Gaume virtual tour: This cave at Les-Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil offers one of the few remaining opportunities to see original polychrome (coloured) cave art, and its condition is so fragile that only 80 visitors a day are permitted into the cave system. This high resolution virtual tour isn't quite the same as being there, but it's a good alternative.


Rouffignac: Our personal favourite, this is the French cave network where original monochrome cave drawings of woolly mammoth and woolly rhinoceros can be viewed, along with visible traces of cave bears, finger art, and the enigmatic tectiform symbol that appears in other caves in the region, some apparently drawn by children.


Pech Merle: A further opportunity to see original polychrome cave art (including ancient handprints) can be found outside the French village of Cabrerets, at the Pech Merle cave and museum. Advance booking is strongly recommended for their English language guided tour.


Chauvet Pont d'Arc: Some of the oldest known cave art in Europe was discovered by French speliologists in 1994, in a limestone gorge beside the famed natural arch that straddles the Ardeche river. In similar style to Lascaux II, a huge replica cave has been constructed outside Vallon Pont d'Arc. The Chauvet cave art is also the subject of Werner Herzog's acclaimed 2010 documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams.


Grottes d'Arcy: In Bourgogne it is possible to see original Palaeolithic paintings at the far end of a wonderful 450m limestone cavern full of natural concretions and features. A most entertaining and informative tour is offered at this tranquil site some distance from the better-known cave locations further south.


Grottes de Cougnac: Among the few caves to feature clear representations of humans, along with animals, abstract shapes and (as with Rouffignac above) the tectiform symbol. Also notable for its beautiful concretions and natural formations. All of the art in these lesser-known caves is original.


More Prehistory Research Links: A selection of links to external sites, videos, and recent news stories for further research on The Stone Age and other aspects of Prehistory and Archaeology.


 

Palaeofacts: Did you know the oldest known European sculpture, made from Mammoth ivory, is the Lion Man, first discovered in the Stadel cave near Ulm, Germany, on the eve of WW2. It has been carbon-dated to around 40,000 years old, and at 30cms tall is also the largest known sculptural representation of this period, depicting a lion standing upright in a human-like posture. Experimental archaeologists who reconstructed the sculpture with ancient tools estimate that the original may have taken around 400 hours to complete.


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