'Prehistory' means before written history so what we know about our ancestors is through the objects they left behind. Traditionally prehistory is divided into periods defined by advances in technology: the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages. Throughout most of prehistory the landscape looked very different to today. About 10,000 years ago the intensely cold conditions of the Ice Age were replaced by a warmer climate leaving whole areas including the Downs heavily forested.

	Neolithic polished flint axe, found re-used as part of a wall in Portslade.

The earliest finds in Hove and Portslade include teeth and bones from a mammoth, a woolly rhinoceros and elephants, which roamed the area at different times during the Ice Age.

The Stone Age is divided into three periods by archaeologists. Palaeolithic, over 9,000 years ago, Mesolithic, 6,500 to 9,000 years ago and Neolithic, 4,400 to 6,500 years ago. The Palaeolithic and Mesolithic inhabitants of the area were nomadic hunter gatherers who left little trace on the landscape. Our Neolithic ancestors were the first to farm. They made a large variety of tools designed to do specific jobs; many examples have been found throughout Hove and Portslade.

	Mesolithic flint pick discovered in Mile Oak, Portslade.

About 3,500 years ago bronze replaced flint for most tools. A Bronze Age settlement was discovered at West Blatchington, whilst burials were found in Hove and Tongdean. Most spectacular of all the Hove Amber Cup shows evidence of trade with the Continent.

In the 700 years before the Roman conquest major social and technological changes took place including the minting of the first coins. Evidence of Iron Age field systems and settlements have been found in the Benfield Valley, on Brighton and Hove Golf Course and north of Mile Oak.

See objects in the Prehistory section of the local history gallery, Hove Museum & Art Gallery