They were times when sabre-tooth cats prowled the plains and our distant ancestors eked out an existence as hunter gatherers.
And the remnants of these bygone days are plentiful - as the haul brought into a West Runton Rocks day has shows.
About 2,000 people flocked to the event organised by the Norfolk Mineral and Lapidary Society on the north Norfolk coast on Friday.
Amber, horse and elk fossils and hand axes were just some of the prehistoric items brought in for identification.
Richard Belson, the society's vice-chairman, said he was surprised by the amount of ancient material that had been presented.
He said: "There's a lot of stuff to be found because we're right on the edge of the glacial deposits and all the sand being pushed down through the ice ages. Also, the Beast from the East last year seems to have disturbed a lot of stuff that was on the sea floor."
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