Реферат People of Ancient Britain History of Britain
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People of Ancient Britain History of Britain (история Британии)
The people of Britain, like their cousins оn the continent, were simple hunters who lived оn the flesh of wild animals, which they shot with flint-tipped arrows or caught in traps. They killed fish in the estuaries and shallow rivers with spears made from the antlers of deer. They gathered wild fruit, nuts and honey, and probably ate snails, caterpillars and other grubs. They did not build permanent houses, but moved from place to place, sheltering in caves in cold weather.
The people of Britain lagged behind the people of certain warmer lands in their development. While they were still living in caves and scratching about for insects to eat, the Egyptians were building pyramids and writing literature.
Of all the stages between the cave and the skyscraper, perhaps man's greatest leap forward was taken when he became а farmer. The Stone Age farmer of about 5,000 years ago had to clear patches in the forests which covered most of Britain that was not barren heath or swamp. Не cut down trees with stone axes, burned off the scrub, and tilled the ground with а stone-headed hoe. Не kept half-wild cattle and pigs in the forest, where they could find their own food, and in treeless parts, like northern Scotland, he kept sheep. The people who grew grain in southern England had flint sickles to reap the harvest.
By the end of the Stone Age, about 2,000 BC, metal was already being used. The Beaker people, who are named after the clay mugs, or 'beakers', they made, also used bronze knives. They came to Britain from northern Europe, and started the building of the stone monuments at Stonehenge and Avebury (Эйвбери).
А simple plough also appeared about this time. It was little more than a spike to rip up the ground: the field was ploughed twice, the second time at right angles to the first. These improvements allowed people to settle in villages, where they stored food for the winter in underground larders. In a few places, like the Orkneys, houses were built of stone, and their remains can still be seen, complete with stone shelves and bedsteads.
The people of the Wessex (Уэссекс) culture (southern England) developed the most advanced society Britain had seen. They used ornaments of gold and had complicated funeral ceremonies, with burials in round 'barrows', or mounds. Building continued at Stonehenge, which was а kind of temple, perhaps having some connection with the changing seasons. The stones seem to be lined up with the sun at different times of the year, and some experts have suggested that the whole building was а kind of astronomical clock.
About 500 BC, the inhabitants of Britain were learning how to smelt iron. Iron ore was easier to obtain, as it often lay close to the surface and was far more common than copper or tin. Although good tools were made of bronze, iron tools were much cheaper.
The beginning of the Iron Age coincided with the arrival of new people from the continent, mainly from France. They were the Celts. Archaeologists have discovered at least three Celtic groups, whom they call А, В and С people. The С people, the last and most advanced group, were the people known to the Romans as the Belgae (they did indeed come from roughly the area of Belgium). They were not 'pure' Celts, having some German blood. In fact there was less difference between Celtic and Germanic people in ancient times than some modern 'Celts' would like to think.
During the Iron Age large forts, with walls of earth reinforced by timber and stone, were built in many parts of the country. People from the nearby countryside could shelter there when enemies threatened. The largest of the English hill forts - in fact the largest in Europe - is Maiden Castle in Dorset. Standing on its great earthen ramparts, on а silent wintry afternoon if possible, some faint sense of Iron Age Britain can still be felt.
We know of many types of Iron Age house, and round buildings, which are simpler than walled houses, have been found in many places. The mysterious round stone towers of northern Scotland belong to the late Iron Age.
In spite of the evidence of the hill forts and stone towers, life in prehistoric Britain was not always violent. The arrival of new immigrants must have caused problems, but they usually came in smallish groups and soon mingled with the native population. It was never а case of the natives being overwhelmed by more aggressive and more advanced invaders. The Celts, who were of mixed race themselves, married natives whose ancestors had also been immigrants from northern Europe and from Spain.
Britain was unknown to the more civilized parts of Europe until it was visited - 'discovered' in fact - by Pytheas (Пифей), an educated merchant from Marseille (Марсель), in about 320 BC. Pytheas wrote the first description of the people, whom he called Celts. They were gentle folk, he said, and welcomed visitors.
The opinion of Pytheas is surprising. The next educated visitor to Britain described the British as а fierce race, savages. But that visitor came in no friendly spirit. His name was Julius Caesar.
