The geographical region of East Frisia was inhabited in paleolithicPaleolithic times by reindeer hunters of the [[Hamburg culture]]. Later there were mesolithicMesolithic and neolithicNeolithic settlements of various cultures leading up to the invasion of [[Germanic tribes]] belonging to the [[Ingvaeonic]] group. Those were [[Chauci]] and [[Frisians]]. The region between the rivers [[Ems]] and [[Weser]] was inhabited by the Chauks, who were partly displaced by Frisian expansion after about 500, and were later partially absorbed into the Frisian society. After the second Christian century there is no mention of the Chauks. [[Saxons]] also settled the region and the East Frisian population of later times is based on a mixture of Frisian and Saxon elements. Nevertheless, the Frisian element is predominant in the coastal area, while the population of the higher [[Geest]] area expresses more Saxon influence.
In the middleMiddle agesAges people could only settle on the higher situated [[Geest]] areas or by erecting so-called "[[Warft]]en" (artificial hills to protect the settlement, whether a single farming estate or a whole village, against the [[North Sea]] floods) in the marsh-areas.
In about [[1000s BC|1000 BC]] the Frisians started building the large dikes along the North Sea shore. This had a great effect on establishing a feeling of national identity and independence. Until the late Middle Ages Ostfriesland resisted the attempts of German states to conquer the coasts. The first proven historical event was the arrival of a [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[Roman Navy|fleet]] under [[Nero Claudius Drusus|Drusus]] in [[12 BC]]; the ships sailed into the course of the [[Ems]] river and returned.
