Ancient Food & Farming
Ancient Times (10,000 - 4,000 BC)
Local people were hunter-gatherers and occupied an area about 400 km2 around Little Wittenham and The Clumps.
The local landscape was covered in dense deciduous woodland from 10,000 - 4,000 BC.
People would have moved around within this area with camps by the River Thames in the summer and sites on higher ground in the winter. Wild cattle (aurochs), deer, wild pigs and smaller game were hunted and fish were caught from the River Thames.
Neolithic Farmers (4000-2200 BC)
Neolithic farmers introduced domesticated cattle (much smaller than aurochs), sheep and cereal cultivation to Britain.
They began to make clearings in the woodland for their animals and plots for growing cereal. No evidence of permanent farms has been found and the land was mostly wooded.
Neolithic people moved around within a large territory using each clearing for a year or two and then moving on to another while the ground recovered.
As cereals were only found in small quantities, it's likely that they were grown to make alcoholic drinks and not used for bread.
| Find out more... Oxford Archaeology's excavation of Castle Hill, Little Wittenham www.thehumanjourney.net |
