The earliest known evidence of human presence in the area
now known as England was that of
Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000
years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in
England date from 500,000 years ago.
[26]
Modern humans are known to have first inhabited the area
during the
Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements
were only established within the last 6,000 years.
[27][28]
After the last
ice age only large mammals such as
mammoths,
bison and
woolly rhinoceros remained. Roughly 11,000 years ago,
when the ice sheets began to recede, humans repopulated the
area; genetic research suggests they came from the northern
part of the
Iberian Peninsula.
[29]
The sea level was lower than now, and Britain was connected
by land to both Ireland and
Eurasia.
[30]
As the seas rose, it was separated from Ireland 10,000 years
ago and from Eurasia two millennia later.
The
Beaker culture arrived around 2500 BC, introducing
drinking and food vessels constructed from clay, as well as
vessels used as reduction pots to smelt copper ores.[31]
It was during this time that major
Neolithic monuments such as
Stonehenge and
Avebury were constructed. By heating together tin and
copper, both of which were in abundance in the area, the
Beaker culture people made
bronze, and later iron from iron ores. The development
of iron
smelting allowed the construction of better
ploughs, advancing agriculture (for instance, with
Celtic fields), as well as the production of more
effective weapons.[32]
According to
John T. Koch and others, England in the Late Bronze Age
was part of a maritime trading-networked culture called the
Atlantic Bronze Age, that included the whole of the
British Isles and much of what we now regard as France,
together with the Iberian Peninsula.
Celtic languages developed in those areas;
Tartessian may have been the earliest written Celtic
language.[33][34][35]
During the
Iron Age,
Celtic culture, deriving from the
Hallstatt and
La Tène cultures, arrived from Central Europe.
Brythonic was the spoken language during this time.
Society was tribal; according to
Ptolemy's
Geographia there were around 20 tribes in the area.
Earlier divisions are unknown because the Britons were not
literate. Like other regions on the edge of the Empire,
Britain had long enjoyed trading links with the Romans.
Julius Caesar of the
Roman Republic attempted to
invade twice in 55 BC; although largely unsuccessful, he
managed to set up a
client king from the
Trinovantes.
The Romans invaded Britain in AD 43 during the reign of
Emperor
Claudius, subsequently
conquering much of Britain, and the area was
incorporated into the Roman Empire as
Britannia province.[36]
The best-known of the native tribes who attempted to resist
were the
Catuvellauni led by
Caratacus. Later, an uprising led by
Boudica, Queen of the
Iceni, ended with Boudica's suicide following her defeat
at the
Battle of Watling Street.[37]
This era saw a
Greco-Roman culture prevail with the introduction of
Roman law,
Roman architecture, sewage systems, many agricultural
items, and silk.[38][39][40]
In the 3rd century, Emperor
Septimius Severus died at
Eboracum (modern-day
York), where
Constantine was subsequently proclaimed emperor.[41]
There is debate about when Christianity was first
introduced; it was no later than the 4th century, with
probability lying much earlier. According to
Bede, missionaries were sent from Rome by
Eleutherius at the request of the chieftain
Lucius of Britain in AD 180 to settle differences as to
Eastern and Western ceremonials which were disturbing the
church. There are traditions linked to Glastonbury claiming
an introduction through
Joseph of Arimathea, while others claim through
Lucius of Britain.[42]
By 410, as the Empire
declined, Britain was left exposed by the
withdrawal of Roman army units, to defend the frontiers
in continental Europe and partake in civil wars
