The earliest evidence of human activity in Leicestershire comes from discoveries of stone tools. The earliest of these are made in quartzite and may date as far back as half a million years, in what we call the Palaeolithic period.
These tools have been found on the surface of fields in Leicestershire, such as this piece from Higham-on-Hill. They were made not by us, Homo Sapiens, but by people who came before us. These may have belonged to the species Homo Heidelbergensis and Homo Neanderthalensis, 'Neanderthal Man'. The term Neanderthal is now used to describe a brutish attitude, but Neanderthal people were amongst the earliest to develop tools, which shows an intellectual development and problem solving ability.
The 'Cave Men' beloved of film and fiction belong to the Palaeolithic, a period that saw huge changes in climate, with Britain swinging from glacial cold to Mediterranean conditions. These people hunted mammals such as deer and mammoths.
This particular tool is called a 'chopper-core', and belongs to a technology known as 'Clactonian' after finds from Clacton, Essex.
