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57-456: CPAT was established in 1975 along with three other Welsh Archaeological Trusts . It emerged from the ‘Rescue Archaeology Group’ (RAG) which was set up in 1970 by Chris Musson, who became the first Chief Executive of CPAT. The Trust undertook pioneering work on prehistoric sites in mid-Wales, beginning with the excavation of the Breidden hillfort (Powys) which was being destroyed by quarrying. This

114-697: A 'tripod' of archaeology and cultural heritage institutions with Cadw and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales . The Trusts maintain Historic Environment Records for their respective areas to provide archaeological advice to central government, planning authorities and other public bodies. This heritage management work is supported by Cadw , together with associated archaeological projects and conservation of sites and historic landscapes. Although they perform some of

171-576: A common impurity. Tin ores are rare, as reflected in the fact there were no tin bronzes in Western Asia before 3000 BCE. The Bronze Age forms part of the three-age system for prehistoric societies. In this system, it follows the Neolithic in some areas of the world. While copper is a common ore, deposits of tin are rare in the Old World , and often had to be traded or carried considerable distances from

228-663: A much more evident Mesolithic era, lasting millennia. In Northern Europe , societies were able to live well on rich food supplies from the marshlands fostered by the warmer climate. Such conditions produced distinctive human behaviours that are preserved in the material record, such as the Maglemosian and Azilian cultures. These conditions also delayed the coming of the Neolithic until as late as 4000 BCE (6,000  BP ) in northern Europe. Remains from this period are few and far between, often limited to middens . In forested areas,

285-556: A regional office of the organisation. Since 2008 the Trust owned Beacon Ring, a hillfort on the Long Mountain near Welshpool. The site was purchased to help safeguard the earthworks for the future. In recent years CPAT had undertaken some archaeological excavations on the site. Fieldwork in 2018 and 2019 investigated the ramparts and entrances. In 2020 a mound at the centre of the site was investigated. Some accounts had suggested that this

342-649: A single room. Settlements might have a surrounding stone wall to keep domesticated animals in and hostile tribes out. Later settlements have rectangular mud-brick houses where the family lived in single or multiple rooms. Burial findings suggest an ancestor cult with preserved skulls of the dead. The Vinča culture may have created the earliest system of writing. The megalithic temple complexes of Ġgantija are notable for their gigantic structures. Although some late Eurasian Neolithic societies formed complex stratified chiefdoms or even states, states evolved in Eurasia only with

399-723: A single source. The emergence of metallurgy may have occurred first in the Fertile Crescent , where it gave rise to the Bronze Age in the 4th millennium BCE (the traditional view), although finds from the Vinča culture in Europe have now been securely dated to slightly earlier than those of the Fertile Crescent. Timna Valley contains evidence of copper mining 7,000 years ago. The process of transition from Neolithic to Chalcolithic in

456-535: A wider portfolio of projects across Wales, and in adjacent areas of England. CPAT has also diversified funding and partnerships for public archaeology projects, including long-running and successful partnerships with the National Trust and the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB. On 1 April 2024 the four Welsh Archaeological Trusts merged to create 'Heneb: the Trust for Welsh Archaeology'. The legal entity 'Heneb'

513-767: Is also a transition period between Stone Age and Bronze Age, the Chalcolithic or Copper Age. For the prehistory of the Americas see Pre-Columbian era . The notion of "prehistory" emerged during the Enlightenment in the work of antiquarians who used the word "primitive" to describe societies that existed before written records. The word "prehistory" first appeared in English in 1836 in the Foreign Quarterly Review . The geologic time scale for pre-human time periods, and

570-511: Is an example. In archaeology, the Iron Age refers to the advent of ferrous metallurgy . The adoption of iron coincided with other changes, often including more sophisticated agricultural practices, religious beliefs and artistic styles, which makes the archaeological Iron Age coincide with the " Axial Age " in the history of philosophy. Although iron ore is common, the metalworking techniques necessary to use iron are different from those needed for

627-488: Is anonymous. Because of this, reference terms that prehistorians use, such as " Neanderthal " or " Iron Age ", are modern labels with definitions sometimes subject to debate. The concept of a "Stone Age" is found useful in the archaeology of most of the world, although in the archaeology of the Americas it is called by different names and begins with a Lithic stage , or sometimes Paleo-Indian . The sub-divisions described below are used for Eurasia, and not consistently across

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684-747: Is called the Lower Paleolithic (as in excavations it appears underneath the Upper Paleolithic), beginning with the earliest stone tools dated to around 3.3 million years ago at the Lomekwi site in Kenya. These tools predate the genus Homo and were probably used by Kenyanthropus . Evidence of control of fire by early hominins during the Lower Palaeolithic Era is uncertain and has at best limited scholarly support. The most widely accepted claim

741-515: Is not generally used in those parts of the world where the working of hard metals arrived abruptly from contact with Eurasian cultures, such as Oceania , Australasia , much of Sub-Saharan Africa , and parts of the Americas . With some exceptions in pre-Columbian civilizations in the Americas, these areas did not develop complex writing systems before the arrival of Eurasians, so their prehistory reaches into relatively recent periods; for example, 1788

798-558: Is provided by a wide variety of natural and social sciences, such as anthropology , archaeology , archaeoastronomy , comparative linguistics , biology , geology , molecular genetics , paleontology , palynology , physical anthropology , and many others. Human prehistory differs from history not only in terms of its chronology , but in the way it deals with the activities of archaeological cultures rather than named nations or individuals . Restricted to material processes, remains, and artefacts rather than written records, prehistory

855-542: Is seen as a transition period between the Stone Age and Bronze Age. An archaeological site in Serbia contains the oldest securely dated evidence of copper making at high temperature, from 7,500 years ago. The find in 2010 extends the known record of copper smelting by about 800 years, and suggests that copper smelting may have been invented independently in separate parts of Asia and Europe at that time, rather than spreading from

912-491: Is that H. erectus or H. ergaster made fires between 790,000 and 690,000 BP in a site at Bnot Ya'akov Bridge , Israel . The use of fire enabled early humans to cook food, provide warmth, have a light source, deter animals at night and meditate. Early Homo sapiens originated some 300,000 years ago, ushering in the Middle Palaeolithic . Anatomic changes indicating modern language capacity also arise during

969-523: Is the first country in Britain that has made all its archaeological records available online”, and “Archwilio will be a tremendous asset not only for the people of Wales but also for those further afield who have an interest in the rich archaeology and cultural heritage of our country” . The site contains the combined record of the four Trusts and gives the public free access to over 100,000 pieces of information about historic sites across Wales. In September 2023

1026-446: Is usually taken as the end of the prehistory of Australia . The period when a culture is written about by others, but has not developed its own writing system, is often known as the protohistory of the culture. By definition, there are no written records from human prehistory, which can only be known from material archaeological and anthropological evidence: prehistoric materials and human remains. These were at first understood by

1083-506: Is when the first signs of human presence have been found; however, Africa and Asia contain sites dated as early as c.  2.5 and 1.8 million years ago, respectively. Depending on the date when relevant records become a useful academic resource, its end date also varies. For example, in Egypt it is generally accepted that prehistory ended around 3100 BCE, whereas in New Guinea

1140-666: The Charity Commission in the UK. The governing body was the Board of Trustees, who were voluntary non-executive directors. The Trustees delegated their authority for the day-to-day running of the Trust to the Director (Chief Executive). The third and final Director of CPAT was appointed in 2013. On 1 April 2024, the Trustees of CPAT resigned and were replaced by the Trustees of Heneb, with CPAT becoming

1197-637: The Copper Age or Bronze Age ; or, in some geographical regions, in the Iron Age ). The term Neolithic is commonly used in the Old World ; its application to cultures in the Americas and Oceania is complicated by the fact standard progression from stone to metal tools, as seen in the Old World, does not neatly apply. Early Neolithic farming was limited to a narrow range of plants, both wild and domesticated, which included einkorn wheat , millet and spelt , and

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1254-525: The Paleolithic , by the Neolithic only Homo sapiens sapiens remained. This was a period of technological and social developments which established most of the basic elements of historical cultures, such as the domestication of crops and animals , and the establishment of permanent settlements and early chiefdoms. The era commenced with the beginning of farming , which produced the " Neolithic Revolution ". It ended when metal tools became widespread (in

1311-606: The three-age system for human prehistory, were systematised during the nineteenth century in the work of British, French, German, and Scandinavian anthropologists , archaeologists , and antiquarians . The main source of information for prehistory is archaeology (a branch of anthropology), but some scholars are beginning to make more use of evidence from the natural and social sciences. The primary researchers into human prehistory are archaeologists and physical anthropologists who use excavation, geologic and geographic surveys, and other scientific analysis to reveal and interpret

1368-469: The "Chalcolithic", "Eneolithic", or "Copper Age" refers to a transitional period where early copper metallurgy appeared alongside the widespread use of stone tools. During this period, some weapons and tools were made of copper. This period was still largely Neolithic in character. It is a phase of the Bronze Age before it was discovered that adding tin to copper formed the harder bronze . The Copper Age

1425-478: The 1970s Wales was the first part of the UK to develop a fully national system of what were then called ‘Sites and Monuments Records’; this fully computerised system was pioneered by Don Benson who was then Chief Executive of the Dyfed Archaeological Trust . During the 1980s there had been good support from government for archaeology, including from Cadw which had been established in 1984. However, with

1482-678: The Azilian cultures, before spreading to Europe through the Iberomaurusian culture of Northern Africa and the Kebaran culture of the Levant . However, independent discovery is not ruled out. "Neolithic" means "New Stone Age", from about 10,200 BCE in some parts of the Middle East, but later in other parts of the world, and ended between 4,500 and 2,000 BCE. Although there were several species of humans during

1539-645: The Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2016. This placed an obligation on Welsh Ministers to maintain the HERs, and this duty is discharged by the four Welsh Archaeological Trusts. On 1 July 2010 the four Welsh Trusts launched their online searchable HER website known as Archwilio , at the Treftadaeth Conference in Swansea . The site was launched by Alun Ffred Jones AM, Minister for Heritage, who observed “Wales

1596-454: The Iron Age, often through conquest by empires, which continued to expand during this period. For example, in most of Europe conquest by the Roman Empire means the term Iron Age is replaced by "Roman", " Gallo-Roman ", and similar terms after the conquest. Even before conquest, many areas began to have a protohistory, as they were written about by literate cultures; the protohistory of Ireland

1653-677: The Middle East is characterized in archaeological stone tool assemblages by a decline in high quality raw material procurement and use. North Africa and the Nile Valley imported its iron technology from the Near East and followed the Near Eastern course of Bronze Age and Iron Age development. The Bronze Age is the earliest period in which some civilizations reached the end of prehistory, by introducing written records. The Bronze Age, or parts thereof, are thus considered to be part of prehistory only for

1710-708: The Middle Palaeolithic. During the Middle Palaeolithic Era, there is the first definitive evidence of human use of fire. Sites in Zambia have charred logs, charcoal and carbonized plants, that have been dated to 180,000 BP. The systematic burial of the dead , music , prehistoric art , and the use of increasingly sophisticated multi-part tools are highlights of the Middle Paleolithic. The Upper Paleolithic extends from 50,000 and 12,000 years ago, with

1767-537: The United Kingdom is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about an organisation in Wales is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Prehistoric Prehistory , also called pre-literary history , is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins c.  3.3   million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with

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1824-553: The case of Indigenous Australian "highways" known as songlines . The Mesolithic, or Middle Stone Age (from the Greek mesos , 'middle', and lithos , 'stone'), was a period in the development of human technology between the Palaeolithic and Neolithic . The Mesolithic period began with the retreat of glaciers at the end of the Pleistocene epoch, some 10,000 BP, and ended with

1881-463: The collection of folklore and by analogy with pre-literate societies observed in modern times. The key step to understanding prehistoric evidence is dating, and reliable dating techniques have developed steadily since the nineteenth century. The most common of these dating techniques is radiocarbon dating . Further evidence has come from the reconstruction of ancient spoken languages . More recent techniques include forensic chemical analysis to reveal

1938-701: The decline of the Manpower Services Commission funding models began to shift to a more ‘development driven’ model during this period. With the rise of planning-related archaeology in the 1990s CPAT evolved to develop commercial ‘contract’ archaeology services, whilst at the same time maintaining the HER, planning services and other public-facing project work. In the 2010s the main focus of CPAT's fieldwork moved away from large-scale thematic studies of Welsh monuments and landscapes, to more site-specific work undertaken as part of development-led projects. This has led to

1995-497: The end of the Bronze Age large states, whose armies imposed themselves on people with a different culture, and are often called empires, had arisen in Egypt, China, Anatolia (the Hittites ), and Mesopotamia , all of them literate. The Iron Age is not part of prehistory for all civilizations who had introduced written records during the Bronze Age. Most remaining civilizations did so during

2052-625: The end of the prehistoric era is set much more recently, in the 1870s, when the Russian anthropologist Nicholai Miklukho-Maklai spent several years living among native peoples, and described their way of life in a comprehensive treatise. In Europe the relatively well-documented classical cultures of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome had neighbouring cultures, including the Celts and the Etruscans , with little writing. Historians debate how much weight to give to

2109-446: The few mines, stimulating the creation of extensive trading routes. In many areas as far apart as China and England, the valuable new material was used for weapons, but for a long time apparently not available for agricultural tools. Much of it seems to have been hoarded by social elites, and sometimes deposited in extravagant quantities, from Chinese ritual bronzes and Indian copper hoards , to European hoards of unused axe-heads. By

2166-493: The first organized settlements and blossoming of artistic work. Throughout the Palaeolithic, humans generally lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers . Hunter-gatherer societies tended to be very small and egalitarian, although hunter-gatherer societies with abundant resources or advanced food-storage techniques sometimes developed sedentary lifestyles with complex social structures such as chiefdoms, and social stratification . Long-distance contacts may have been established, as in

2223-493: The first signs of deforestation have been found, although this would only begin in earnest during the Neolithic, when more space was needed for agriculture . The Mesolithic is characterized in most areas by small composite flint tools: microliths and microburins . Fishing tackle , stone adzes , and wooden objects such as canoes and bows have been found at some sites. These technologies first occur in Africa, associated with

2280-445: The four archaeological organisations covering Wales , from their establishment in the mid-1970s until their merger into a single archaelogical organisation, Heneb , in 2024. They were established in the mid-1970s to respond to rescue archaeology . They are independent charitable trusts which together provide a uniform regional archaeology service across Wales , working closely with Welsh Government and local authorities and forming

2337-501: The four Welsh Archaeological Trusts agreed to merge. As part of this process, in November 2023 the Dyfed Archaeological Trust changed its name to Heneb: the Trust for Welsh Archaeology . In April 2024 the other three Welsh Archaeological Trusts joined Heneb: the Trust for Welsh Archaeology. The resulting organisation has a pan-Wales overview, whilst maintaining regionally-based operations. This article relating to archaeology in

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2394-497: The four Welsh Archaeological Trusts agreed to merge. As part of this process, in November 2023 the Dyfed Archaeological Trust changed its name to Heneb: the Trust for Welsh Archaeology. In April 2024 the other three Welsh Archaeological Trusts joined Heneb: the Trust for Welsh Archaeology. The resulting organisation is a national body, with regional offices. Welsh Archaeological Trusts The Welsh Archaeological Trusts ( Welsh : Ymddiriedolaethau Archaeolegol Cymru ) were

2451-615: The functions that elsewhere in the UK are delivered by public bodies, the Welsh Archaeological Trusts are independent charities with political and operational autonomy. The Welsh Archaeological Trusts also generate income by providing archaeological consulting and contracting services for a range of clients - both in Wales and elsewhere. They also deliver a wide range of public engagement and archaeological outreach events and activities, with funding from many sources. The four trusts comprise: The Welsh HERs were made statutory by

2508-467: The introduction of agriculture , the date of which varied by geographic region. In some areas, such as the Near East , agriculture was already underway by the end of the Pleistocene , and there the Mesolithic is short and poorly defined. In areas with limited glacial impact, the term " Epipalaeolithic " is preferred. Regions that experienced greater environmental effects as the last ice age ended have

2565-407: The invention of writing systems . The use of symbols, marks, and images appears very early among humans, but the earliest known writing systems appeared c.  5,200 years ago. It took thousands of years for writing systems to be widely adopted, with writing having spread to almost all cultures by the 19th century. The end of prehistory therefore came at different times in different places, and

2622-474: The keeping of dogs , sheep , and goats . By about 6,900–6,400 BCE, it included domesticated cattle and pigs, the establishment of permanently or seasonally inhabited settlements, and the use of pottery . The Neolithic period saw the development of early villages , agriculture , animal domestication , tools , and the onset of the earliest recorded incidents of warfare. Settlements became more permanent, some with circular houses made of mudbrick with

2679-401: The nature and behavior of pre-literate and non-literate peoples. Human population geneticists and historical linguists are also providing valuable insight. Cultural anthropologists help provide context for societal interactions, by which objects of human origin pass among people, allowing an analysis of any article that arises in a human prehistoric context. Therefore, data about prehistory

2736-658: The regions and civilizations who developed a system of keeping written records during later periods. The invention of writing coincides in some areas with the beginnings of the Bronze Age. After the appearance of writing, people started creating texts including written records of administrative matters. The Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use) included techniques for smelting copper and tin from naturally occurring outcroppings of ores, and then combining them to cast bronze . These naturally occurring ores typically included arsenic as

2793-502: The rise of metallurgy, and most Neolithic societies on the whole were relatively simple and egalitarian. Most clothing appears to have been made of animal skins, as indicated by finds of large numbers of bone and antler pins which are ideal for fastening leather. Wool cloth and linen might have become available during the later Neolithic, as suggested by finds of perforated stones that (depending on size) may have served as spindle whorls or loom weights. In Old World archaeology,

2850-631: The sometimes biased accounts in Greek and Roman literature, of these protohistoric cultures. In dividing up human prehistory in Eurasia, historians typically use the three-age system, whereas scholars of pre-human time periods typically use the well-defined geologic record and its internationally defined stratum base within the geologic time scale . The three-age system is the periodization of human prehistory into three consecutive time periods , named for their predominant tool-making technologies: Stone Age , Bronze Age and Iron Age . In some areas, there

2907-680: The term is less often used in discussing societies where prehistory ended relatively recently. In the early Bronze Age , Sumer in Mesopotamia , the Indus Valley Civilisation , and ancient Egypt were the first civilizations to develop their own scripts and keep historical records, with their neighbours following. Most other civilizations reached their end of prehistory during the following Iron Age . The three-age division of prehistory into Stone Age , Bronze Age , and Iron Age remains in use for much of Eurasia and North Africa , but

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2964-582: The use and provenance of materials, and genetic analysis of bones to determine kinship and physical characteristics of prehistoric peoples. The beginning of prehistory is normally taken to be marked by human-like beings appearing on Earth. The date marking its end is typically defined as the advent of the contemporary written historical record. Both dates consequently vary widely from region to region. For example, in European regions, prehistory cannot begin before c.  1.3  million years ago, which

3021-455: The whole area. "Palaeolithic" means "Old Stone Age", and begins with the first use of stone tools . The Paleolithic is the earliest period of the Stone Age . It extends from the earliest known use of stone tools by hominins c.  3.3  million years ago, to the end of the Pleistocene c.  11,650   BP (before the present period). The early part of the Palaeolithic

3078-459: Was a prehistoric burial mound . However excavation found that this was probably the location of the eponymous beacon, almost certainly of post-medieval date. The mound had later been re-used by the Ordnance Survey as a trig point , both in the 19th century Principal Triangulation of Great Britain and subsequently, with the most recent trig point being installed in 1948. In September 2023,

3135-534: Was characterised by depth of regional knowledge and expertise, which partly comes from having many different roles in one organisation. The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust was organised into three principal departments. CPAT was a Registered Organisation with the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists . CPAT was both a limited company (1212455) and a registered charity (508301). It therefore provided publicly-accessible accounts to Companies House and to

3192-646: Was created by renaming of the Dyfed Archaeological Trust (DAT); it then subsumed the other three Trusts. As a result control of the merged organisation passed to the former Director of DAT, and then subsequently to a new CEO who had been appointed in February 2024. Therefore the role of Director of CPAT was made redundant. The four Welsh Archaeological Trusts formed part of a ‘tripod’ of institutions which help understand, conserve and interpret archaeology and cultural heritage in Wales . The Trust system in Wales

3249-491: Was followed by the excavation of a late Iron Age hillslope enclosure at Collfryn (Powys), which found evidence for intensive occupation and remodelling of the site, including round-houses and ‘four-poster’ structures that were probably granaries. CPAT has also undertaken extensive excavations of medieval sites such as Offa's Dyke and Hen Domen , near Montgomery. CPAT and the other Welsh Archaeological Trusts were pioneers in developing Historic Environment Records (HERs). In

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