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Prehistory


Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age.



5 subcategories
Bronze Age

BRONZE AGE

Celtic

CELTIC

Iron Age

IRON AGE

Neolithic (Young Stone Age)

NEOLITHIC (YOUNG STONE AGE)

Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age)

PALAEOLITHIC (OLD STONE AGE)

1,733 photos
Idol. Stone figure from Les Eyzies de Tayac, France. Magdalenian, beginning of Middle Stone Age (Mesolithic).
#06010123

Idol. Stone figure from Les Eyzies de Tayac, Fra...

Venus of Willendorf. Carved out of limestone, 11cm tall, discovered at an excavation in Willendorf, Lower Austria on 7 August 1908. One of the many female statuettes, nicknamed "Venus" figurines, that were made of stone, bone and ivory in the Upper Palaeolithic, 28.000 to 12.000 BCE. Statuettes with similar features - symmetrical posture, large breasts, abdomen and buttocks, reduced arms and feet, no face - were found throuout Europe, from western France to Siberia. Their purpose and meaning to the palaeolithic hunters and gatherers is subject to much speculation. The interpretations range from stone age sex symbol and mother godess to talisman, shaman and ancestor cult object, dependig on the interpreter and his or her social and political background.
#06010124

Venus of Willendorf. Carved out of limestone, 11cm tall, discovered at an exca...

Venus of Willendorf. Carved out of limestone, 11cm tall, discovered at an excavation in Willendorf, Lower Austria on 7 August 1908. One of the many female statuettes, nicknamed "Venus" figurines, that were made out of stone, bone and ivory in the Upper Palaeolithic, 28.000 to 12.000 BCE. Statuettes with similar features - symmetrical posture, large breasts, abdomen and buttocks, reduced arms and feet, no face - were found throuout Europe, from western France to Siberia. Their purpose and meaning to the palaeolithic hunters and gatherers is subject to much speculation. The interpretations range from stone age sex symbol and mother godess to talisman, shaman and ancestor cult object, dependig on the interpreter and his or her social and political background.
#06010125

Venus of Willendorf. Carved out of limestone, 11cm tall, discovered at an exca...

Venus of Willendorf. Carved out of limestone, 11cm tall, discovered at an excavation in Willendorf, Lower Austria on 7 August 1908. One of the many female statuettes, nicknamed "Venus" figurines, that were made out of stone, bone and ivory in the Upper Palaeolithic, 28.000 to 12.000 BCE. Statuettes with similar features - symmetrical posture, large breasts, abdomen and buttocks, reduced arms and feet, no face - were found throuout Europe, from western France to Siberia. Their purpose and meaning to the palaeolithic hunters and gatherers is subject to much speculation. The interpretations range from stone age sex symbol and mother godess to talisman, shaman and ancestor cult object, dependig on the interpreter and his or her social and political background.
#06010126

Venus of Willendorf. Carved out of limestone, 11cm tall, discovered at an exca...

Venus of Willendorf. Carved out of limestone, 11cm tall, discovered at an excavation in Willendorf, Lower Austria on 7 August 1908. One of the many female statuettes, nicknamed "Venus" figurines, that were made out of stone, bone and ivory in the Upper Palaeolithic, 28.000 to 12.000 BCE. Statuettes with similar features - symmetrical posture, large breasts, abdomen and buttocks, reduced arms and feet, no face - were found throuout Europe, from western France to Siberia. Their purpose and meaning to the palaeolithic hunters and gatherers is subject to much speculation. The interpretations range from stone age sex symbol and mother godess to talisman, shaman and ancestor cult object, dependig on the interpreter and his or her social and political background.
#06010127

Venus of Willendorf. Carved out of limestone, 11cm tall, discovered at an exca...

Human hands in red and black. Imprints on the walls of the Cave de Gargas, France. No such imprints have been found elsewhere, nor is it known why some fingers are of rather different shape or whether the imprints have a ritualistic or mythological meaning.
#06010128

Human hands in red and black. Imprints on the walls of the Cave de Gargas, F...

Human hands in red and black. Imprints on the walls of the Cave de Gargas, France. No such imprints have been found elsewhere, nor is it known why some fingers are of rather different shape or whether the imprints have a ritualistic or mythological meaning.
#06010129

Human hands in red and black. Imprints on the walls of the Cave de Gargas, F...

Human hands in red and black. Imprints on the walls of the Cavee de Gargas, France. No such imprints have been found elsewhere, nor is it known why some fingers are of rather different shape or whether the imprints have a ritualistic or mythological meaning.
#06010130

Human hands in red and black. Imprints on the walls of the Cavee de Gargas,...

Human hands in red and black. Imprints on the walls of the Cave de Gargas, France. No such imprints have been found elsewhere, nor is it known why some fingers are of rather different shape or whether the imprints have ritualistic or mythological meaning. Overall view.
#06010131

Human hands in red and black. Imprints on the walls of the Cave de Gargas, Fran...

Three elephants. Frescoes from Tassili n'Ajjer. Henri Lhote Collection
#06010132

Three elephants. Frescoes from Tassili n'...

Loping hares. Fresco of Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria. Henri Lhote Collection
#06010133

Loping hares. Fresco of Tassili n'Ajje...

Cattle gathered next to a group of huts represented by white ovals. Behind a line of calves tethered to a rope are a group of women and children working. Fresco from Tassili N'Ajjer. Henri Lhote Collection
#06010134

Cattle gathered next to a group of huts represented by white ovals. Behind a...