How did people live long ago?

Imagine your home with no lights, no fridge, no shops down the road, and no screens at all. That is how people lived long, long ago. How did they manage? They were very clever!

Finding food

In the earliest days there were no farms or supermarkets. People were hunters and gatherers. They hunted animals for meat and gathered berries, nuts and roots from the wild.

Later, people learned to farm. They planted seeds to grow food and kept animals like goats and sheep. Now they could stay in one place instead of always wandering to find a meal.

Making things by hand

There were no factories, so people made everything by hand. They chipped sharp tools from stone, shaped pots from clay, and wove baskets from grass. They made warm clothes from animal skins and plants.

To stay warm and cook their food, they learned to make fire. A crackling fire kept them cosy and safe in the dark night.

Stories around the fire

With no books or television, people told stories out loud. They gathered around the fire and shared tales, songs and lessons. This is how they passed what they knew from grown-ups to children.

Wonder fact: Long-ago people painted pictures of animals on cave walls — some of those paintings are still there today, thousands of years later!