UK Countryside history - 7,000 BC
Around 8500 BC there was a rapid warming in the climate and this provided
ideal conditions for the development of deciduous woodland which
started to displace the existing pine woodland. By 7000 BC the landscape had become densely covered in woodland - known as the wildwood.
- Population
Groups of hunter gatherers lived throughout the UK, possibly numbering 20,000.
- Crops
No farmed crops but the population exploited wild plants producing fruits,
berries and seeds.
- Livestock
None but large wild cattle, red deer, boar and elk were all hunted. Fish
and water birds were also important in the diet.
- Farming Systems
There were no farming systems as such in the UK, but by this time agriculture
was well advanced in the "fertile crescent" (northern end of the Persian
Gulf to the valley of the River Nile in Egypt) and had reached Greece.
- Woodland & Hedges
Dense woodland covering most of the countryside.
- Social Economy
Although the population was essentially nomadic, groups would have been
in regular contact exchanging news and goods and searching for suitable
partners. The earliest known dwelling in the UK dates from 8,000 BC.
- Climate
The UK would have enjoyed a continental style climate that was warm and
dry and that encouraged oak, elm and lime woodland.
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