EARLY MAN 



THAT portion of the story of man which precedes the period 

 of written history must ever be one of the most interesting 

 subjects of human study. The absence of documentary evidence 

 only increases the importance of the remains which belong to 

 the prehistoric period ; and every fragment of human handiwork of that 

 time, the circumstances of its discovery, and its association with or rela- 

 tion to other remains, all deserve the most careful attention from those 

 who seriously desire to obtain something like a complete idea of the 

 subject of our earliest ancestors. 



In this attempt to present a sketch of early man in Norfolk it 

 seems desirable therefore to consider in some detail the various antiquities 

 which have been found, to explain what they teach us, and to give such 

 particulars as may be possible or desirable concerning their distribution 

 and relative age. 



At the outset it may be remarked that antiquaries are practically 

 unanimous in their views as to the various ages into which the prehis- 

 toric period may reasonably be divided. Here, as in many other parts 

 of the world, the first sign of man is found in stone implements rather 

 than in the traces of dwellings or graves, or remains of man himself 



Confining our remarks for the present to what is known as the 

 Stone age, it may be pointed out that this is divided into two well- 

 defined sections, viz. the older or Paleolithic, and the newer or Neo- 

 lithic age. 



Norfolk in the Pal/eolithic Age 



The inhabitants of Norfolk during the earlier or Paleolithic age 

 lived at a time when what is now Great Britain and Ireland was united 

 to the continent of Europe, and when as a consequence the climate was 

 subjected to greater variations than those which our present insular 

 position gives us. Man's status in the scale of civilization at this time 

 may be inferred from the following facts. He did not possess the know- 

 ledge of making pottery, neither was he capable of working metals. 

 Such of his implements and weapons as were formed of stone were 

 shaped by chipping : the art of shaping a flint or stone by means of 

 grinding seems to have been entirely unknown to him. He had no 

 domesticated animals, and it is probable that he did not cultivate the soil 

 for vegetable crops. The evidence points to the conclusion that his 



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