History · Year 3 · The Stone Age: Hunters and Gatherers · Autumn Term

Palaeolithic Survival: Food & Shelter

Learning about the very first humans in Britain and their struggle for survival during the Ice Age, focusing on food acquisition and basic shelter.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS2: History - Stone Age to Iron Age Britain
• KS2: History - Hunter-gatherers and early farmers

About This Topic

The Palaeolithic, or Old Stone Age, marks the beginning of the human story in Britain. Students explore how early hunter-gatherers survived in a landscape shaped by the Ice Age, moving constantly to follow animal herds and seasonal plants. This period is crucial for Year 3 as it introduces the concept of deep time and the fundamental human needs for food, shelter, and community. It sets the stage for understanding all subsequent technological and social developments in the National Curriculum.

By studying the Palaeolithic, children begin to develop their historical enquiry skills, looking at how we know about people who left no written records. They learn to value the ingenuity of early humans who used flint, bone, and wood to create complex tools. This topic comes alive when students can physically model the patterns of survival through role play and problem-solving challenges.

Key Questions

1. Analyze how early humans sourced food without agriculture or shops.
2. Differentiate between natural shelters and early human-made dwellings.
3. Explain the challenges of daily survival during the Ice Age in Britain.

Learning Objectives

• Classify different types of food sources available to Palaeolithic humans in Britain.
• Compare natural shelters with basic human-made shelters used during the Ice Age.
• Explain the primary challenges faced by early humans for daily survival in prehistoric Britain.
• Identify tools and materials used by Palaeolithic people for obtaining food and building shelter.

Before You Start

Basic Needs of Living Things

Why: Students need to understand that all living things require food, water, and shelter to survive, which forms the foundation for understanding human survival.

Seasons and Weather

Why: Understanding seasonal changes and different weather conditions helps students grasp the environmental challenges faced by Palaeolithic people.

Key Vocabulary

Palaeolithic	The earliest period of the Stone Age, characterized by the use of chipped stone tools and hunter-gatherer lifestyles.
Ice Age	A period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's climate, resulting in the presence of ice sheets and glaciers.
Hunter-gatherer	A human living a nomadic lifestyle, obtaining food by hunting wild animals and gathering wild plants and berries.
Flint	A hard, sedimentary rock that fractures with a very sharp edge, making it useful for creating early tools and weapons.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Stone Age people lived at the same time as dinosaurs.

What to Teach Instead

Dinosaurs became extinct about 65 million years ago, while the first humans in Britain appeared around 800,000 years ago. Using a long physical timeline in the corridor or playground helps students visualize this massive gap in time more effectively than a standard textbook diagram.

Common Misconception

Early humans were not very intelligent.

What to Teach Instead

Palaeolithic people had the same brain capacity as modern humans and were expert engineers of their environment. Hands-on tool-making simulations (using soap or clay) show students the precision and planning required to create a functional hand-axe.

Active Learning Ideas

Inquiry Circle: The Survival Kit

In small groups, students are given a 'survival scenario' in a tundra landscape. They must choose five items from a collection of natural materials (flint, moss, animal fur, wood, bone) and explain to the class how they would use these to meet their basic needs.

45 min·Small Groups

Role Play: The Seasonal Move

The classroom is divided into different 'resource zones'. Students act as a nomadic tribe and must decide when and where to move based on teacher-led 'weather reports' or 'herd sightings', discussing the risks and rewards of each move.

30 min·Whole Class

Think-Pair-Share: The Fire Mystery

Students first think individually about three ways fire changed life for a Palaeolithic family. They then pair up to combine their ideas and share their most important reason with the class, focusing on safety, warmth, or cooking.

15 min·Pairs

Real-World Connections

• Archaeologists at sites like Boxgrove in Sussex excavate ancient animal bones and stone tools to reconstruct the diets and hunting strategies of early humans who lived there over half a million years ago.
• Modern survival experts teach skills such as identifying edible wild plants and constructing basic shelters from natural materials, echoing the challenges faced by Palaeolithic people.
• Museum exhibits, such as those at the Natural History Museum in London, display fossil evidence and recreated environments to help visitors understand the conditions and lifestyles of prehistoric Britain.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

Provide students with two images: one of a cave and one of a simple hut made of branches. Ask them to write one sentence explaining which would have been a more likely shelter for Palaeolithic people in Britain and why.

Discussion Prompt

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are a Year 3 child living in Ice Age Britain. What are the three most important things you would need to find each day to survive?' Encourage students to share their ideas and justify their choices, focusing on food and shelter.

Quick Check

Show images of different food sources (e.g., berries, fish, deer, roots). Ask students to point to or name three that early humans in Britain might have been able to find and explain briefly how they might have obtained them.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Palaeolithic people actually eat in Britain?

Their diet was incredibly varied. They hunted large animals like mammoths and reindeer, but also gathered nuts, berries, and edible roots. In coastal areas, they collected shellfish. It was a high-protein, seasonal diet that required deep knowledge of the local landscape and animal behavior.

How do we know about them if they didn't write anything down?

We rely on archaeology. This includes stone tools (lithics), butchered animal bones, and rare footprints preserved in silt, like those found at Happisburgh. These physical clues allow historians to piece together how they moved, worked, and lived.

How can active learning help students understand the Palaeolithic?

Active learning moves students from passive observers to active problem-solvers. By participating in simulations of hunting or foraging, children experience the pressure of survival and the necessity of teamwork. This builds empathy and a deeper grasp of why specific technologies, like fire or flint knapping, were revolutionary for human development.

Was it always freezing during the Palaeolithic in Britain?

No, the Palaeolithic spanned many hundreds of thousands of years. Britain went through 'glacials' (ice ages) and 'interglacials' (warmer periods). During some warm spells, the climate in Britain was similar to the Mediterranean today, with animals like hippos and lions living in what is now London.