Home: Stone Age people: Food and hunting

Stone Age people during the Ice Age were nomadic. They travelled on foot, possibly over vast areas, to gather and hunt for food, moving between different camps at different times of the year.

Animals including fish and birds were the main source of food. Bones from archaeological sites show that nothing of the animal was wasted. After the meat was cut off the bones, they were smashed to eat the marrow. Eating fat is a good way of storing energy in a cold climate. Parts of the animal high in fat, would have been essential in your diet. These parts may even have been regarded as special treats.

Storing food might have been essential if you wanted to survive the winter. Meat could either have been covered up and frozen, cut up into strips and dried in the wind or smoked above a fire.

Investigate which parts of a Reindeer you might have chosen to eat during the Ice Age.