The earliest reference to the morris dance that I know of is from someone's will & testament written in the 1450s. The evidence for morris's direct connection to ancient paganism is zero, zilch, zip, unless our intrepid hokipokologists are able to come up with something.

One of the most interesting morris dances in terms of props is the Horn Dance of Abbot's Bromley, Staffordshire, which uses neither sticks nor hankies, but reindeer antlers. The antlers themselves are thought to be much older than the dance. My guess is they were bought from a travelling peddlar who was relieved to unload such useless gear on the suckers at Abbot's Bromley. The "suckers," though, may be thought to have gotten a good deal. Their town's dance has some of the the most unique dance-props in England.