 Between <unk> and <unk> BCE , all of the British Isles came to abandon its former Mesolithic hunter @-@ gatherer lifestyle , to be replaced by the new agricultural subsistence of the Neolithic Age . Although a common material culture was shared throughout most of the British Isles in this period , there was great regional variation regarding the nature and distribution of settlement , architectural styles , and the use of natural resources . Throughout most of Britain , there is little evidence of cereal or permanent dwellings from this period , leading archaeologists to believe that the Early Neolithic economy on the island was largely pastoral , relying on herding cattle , with people living a nomadic or semi @-@ nomadic way of life . Although witnessing some land clearance , Britain was largely forested in this period , and it is unclear what level of <unk> the area of Kent had experienced in the Early Neolithic ; widespread forest clearance only took place on the <unk> of south @-@ east Britain in the Late Bronze Age . Environmental data from the area around the White Horse Stone supports the idea that the area was still largely forested in the Early Neolithic , covered by a woodland of oak , ash , <unk> / alder and <unk> . 
