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 Palaeolithic, and the newer or Neo- lithic age. Norfolk in the Palaeolithic Age The inhabitants of Norfolk during the earlier or Palasolithic 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 253
