This Kapow pupil video is part of the Kapow History scheme of work. It explores how people in Stone Age Britain built shelters, using archaeological evidence to help us understand life thousands of years ago. Because there are no written records from this period, historians use artefacts, ancient tools, carvings and ruins to piece together the past. Pupils learn how shelters evolved across the Stone Age, from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic, as people’s lifestyles and technologies changed. The video highlights reconstructions of shelters made from natural materials like wood, stone, animal hides and mud, based on real discoveries across Britain.

The narrative continues by examining famous sites such as Kent’s Cavern, caves on the Derbyshire – Nottinghamshire border, a Mesolithic hut in Northumberland, and reconstructed Neolithic houses at Durrington Walls near Stonehenge. Pupils also explore the remarkable preserved village of Skara Brae in the Orkney Islands, learning how each site gives clues about how Stone Age people lived, worked, and stayed safe. The video finishes by showing how archaeologists use finds to recreate shelters and how these discoveries help us understand the daily lives of some of Britain’s earliest inhabitants.

The video is designed to be shown to pupils as part of History, Lower key stage 2, Year 3, British history 1: Would you prefer to have lived in the Stone Age, Bronze Age or Iron Age? Lesson 2: What does Skara Brae tell us about life in the Stone Age?