Around six thousand years ago major changes occurred in the human occupation of the British Isles, marking the beginning of one of the most fascinating periods in prehistory. Previous lifestyles dependent upon hunting, fishing and gathering were replaced by ones reliant on horticulture and the keeping of livestock. The sudden appearance of agriculture is only one part of the story. It was also a time when novel ways of living and understanding the world developed. The period also marks the advent of new technologies and new ideologies.