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INTRODUCTION

TITLE

	Bronze-Age flint arrowhead
	Picture credit: Dartford Museum

DARTFORD'S FIRST FARMERS

The first proper farming communities were established in the Dartford area approximately 5,500 years ago during the New Stone Age (Neolithic). The adoption of new farming methods meant that people were no longer totally dependent on hunting for their daily food and long-term survival; they could now enjoy a more settled existence and plan their farming programme. Forests and woods were cleared to create small fields. Crops were cultivated, and domesticated animals reared. Axes, hoes and rakes were made using flint, wood, leather and animal bone. Tools made during the Neolithic era show a high standard of workmanship. The hunting of animals continued alongside farming activities. A number of finely worked Neolithic arrowheads have been found close to the centre of modern-day Dartford. There are indicators that a Neolithic settlement existed in the valley of the Ebbsfleet, a stream which flows into the River Thames at Northfleet east of Dartford. Pieces of pottery retrieved from this site appear to be related to the Peterborough phase of Neolithic culture.