Stone Age to Iron Age Timeline: Free KS2 History Worksheet

What the three ages of British prehistory are

British prehistory is usually divided into three broad periods, each named after the main material people used for their best tools and weapons. The Stone Age is the longest by far, beginning hundreds of thousands of years ago and itself split into the Old (Palaeolithic), Middle (Mesolithic) and New (Neolithic) Stone Ages. The Bronze Age in Britain began around 2300 BC, when people learned to mix copper and tin to make bronze. The Iron Age followed from roughly 800 BC and lasted until the Romans invaded in AD 43. Books give slightly different start dates, so do not worry if your child's school uses others. Each new material did not replace everything before it overnight, but it changed what was possible in farming, building and fighting.

Why chronology matters in KS2 history

A central aim of the KS2 history curriculum is for pupils to develop a 'chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history'. Putting the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages in order is one of the first chances children get to place long periods of time in sequence and to use the language of time and change. A common misconception is that the three ages were about the same length: the Stone Age lasted hundreds of thousands of years, while the Bronze and Iron Ages together lasted less than 3,000 years. Drawing a long strip of paper with the Stone Age taking up almost all of it makes this easy to see.

How life changed across the periods

The move from stone to bronze to iron goes with a much bigger change in how people lived. Early Stone Age people were hunter-gatherers who followed animals and gathered wild plants. Farming reached Britain in the New Stone Age, around 4000 BC, and communities began clearing land, keeping animals and building monuments such as Stonehenge, begun around 3000 BC. Bronze tools, like the sickle on this sheet used to harvest crops, went with settled farming and long-distance trade, because tin and copper were found in only a few places. In the Iron Age, iron ore was easy to find, so tools became more common; people lived in roundhouses, and some communities built defended hillforts.

Getting the most from this worksheet at home or school

Before your child writes, read the three age names aloud and check they know which material gives each age its name. While they colour, ask them to look closely at the differences between a chipped stone edge, a curved bronze blade and a straight iron sword. The word bank helps with spelling so children can concentrate on the history. The last two questions ask your child to reason rather than recall, so accept any sensible answer that uses what they know. To extend the activity, talk about why this time is called prehistory: it is the time before people in Britain wrote things down, so everything we know comes from objects that archaeologists have found.

Frequently asked questions