Changes

==History==

==History==

====Early humans====

====Early humans====

[[Image:Europe ref04.jpg|thumb|300 px|Shaded relief map of Europe]]

[[File:Europe map CIA 2005.jpg|thumb|280px|Shaded relief map of Europe]]

It was during the late Paleolithic that humans arrived on the continent, and although of a hunter-gatherer stock they left behind examples of their art, most notably the cave paintings in Spain and France with their highly-decorated murals of extinct animals.  As these hunters settled down by the Neolithic period, they had learned to farm, and by roughly 6000 B.C. farming had spread across most of the continent.  With farming came a more settled life, and towns were created, with the Starčevo and Danubian cultures in the Balkans, and Sesklo and Dimini in Thessaly.  Trade in metals (copper, tin) resulted in the creation of bronze by about 4000 B.C.; amber marked its appearence as a precious stone in trade from the Baltic.  Elaborate burials were becoming common, especially of aristocrats or royalty; during this time as well humans were organized into societies that resulted in the construction of the megaliths, of which [[Stonehenge]] is the best known example.  

It was during the late Paleolithic that humans arrived on the continent, and although of a hunter-gatherer stock they left behind examples of their art, most notably the cave paintings in Spain and France with their highly-decorated murals of extinct animals.  As these hunters settled down by the Neolithic period, they had learned to farm, and by roughly 6000 B.C. farming had spread across most of the continent.  With farming came a more settled life, and towns were created, with the Starčevo and Danubian cultures in the Balkans, and Sesklo and Dimini in Thessaly.  Trade in metals (copper, tin) resulted in the creation of bronze by about 4000 B.C.; amber marked its appearence as a precious stone in trade from the Baltic.  Elaborate burials were becoming common, especially of aristocrats or royalty; during this time as well humans were organized into societies that resulted in the construction of the megaliths, of which [[Stonehenge]] is the best known example.