The big picture of the earliest humans in Britain

Natural climate change has meant that different groups of humans have come to and left Britain at different times. Stone tools and footprints at Happisburgh show that the first known Britons came to Britain c. 950,000 years ago. Around 500,000 years ago teeth and bones found at Boxgrove show Homo heidelbergensis lived in Britain. Ice Ages around 450,000 and 20,000 years ago resulted in long periods when no humans lived in Britain. Homo sapiens came to Britain c. 40,000 years ago, left during the most recent Ice Age and returned c. 12,000 years ago.