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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
Pottery cinerary urn shaped like a hut, early Italian Iron Age, Villanova, 900-800 BCE. The hut represented here is oval in plan, built of wooden posts and beams with wattle and daub walls.The doors of the urns were kept shut with a bronze pin.
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Pottery cinerary urn shaped like a hut, early Italian Iron Age, Villanova, 900-8...

Plastered skull from Jericho, 7000-6000 BCE. The removal of the skull and its separate burial was widely practiced in the Levant during the 7th millenium BCE. The lower jaw was often removed and the skull remodelled with plaster to build up the facial features. Shells were set into the empty sockets to represent the eyes. ANE 127414
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Plastered skull from Jericho, 7000-6000 BCE. The removal of the skull and its se...

Painted cramic vase, Bronze Age, 1500 BCE.Tripod-footed pot with chequer-board design. The pattern resembles designs, possibly inspired by contemporary textiles, found on Early Iron Age pottery. Acquired by Sir Marc Aurel Stein at Chigha Sabz in the Rumishkan area of southern Luristan, Iran. ANE 131072
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Painted cramic vase, Bronze Age, 1500 BCE.Tripod-footed pot with chequer-board d...

Painted jar in the form of a female figure, Anatolian Chalcolotic, around 5000 BCE. Striped clay jar, similar to a type of pottery found at Hacilar,Turkey. The potters at this site produced high-quality wares, but by the beginning of the fifth millenium BCE Hacilar had been abandoned and with the end of the settlement came the end of the fine pottery tradition. ANE, 134707
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Painted jar in the form of a female figure, Anatolian Chalcolotic, around 5000 B...

Two female figures, Halaf culture and Late Chalcolithic, around 5000 - 4500 BCE. The figurine on the left comes from north-east Syria, the one on the right probably from south- east Turkey. Both are fertility figures with large breasts and wide hips. Necklace, loincloth, body-paint and jewellery are painted on them. ANE, 125381
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Two female figures, Halaf culture and Late Chalcolithic, around 5000 - 4500 BCE...

Decorated bone pin, Early Aurignacian period, about 34,000 years old. Deliberately made jewellery is unknown in Old Stone Age sites in Europe before the start of the Upper Palaeolithic. Some of the oldest known pieces came from the Abri Lartet, a shelter formed by a rock overhang where the users of distinctive split-based spear points camped during the early Aurignacian period, which in France lasted from 35,000 to 29,000 years ago. The decorated pin is a rare piece. There is nothing to compare with it in the whole of western Europe. From the flattened tip the smooth shaft becomes more rounded towards the middle where the simple notched decoration starts. This extends all round the shaft onto the head which is in part still rough and may not have been finished. The tip is thin and flattened. It appears unsuitable for use as a tool. On a person, it might have been worn in the hair or, to hold the sides of a collar or jacket front together below the shoulder. Perforated bone pendants with notched decoration and waste from making ivory beads were also found at the site. P&EE, Sieveking Catalogue no. 1
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Decorated bone pin, Early Aurignacian period, about 34,000 years old. Deliberate...

Bone flute, Paleolithic (Perigordian), about 32,000 years old. The oldest known musical instruments in western Europe appear about 35,000 years ago at the same time as fully modern people like ourselves. Cave paintings, sculpture and jewellery also date from this period. Flutes carved from bone are the oldest recognizable type of instrument. This example from La Roque, Dordogne, France has five holes on the front and two on the back. With the top end blocked except for a small airway it could have been played like a modern recorder. It is similar to 30,000 year-old flutes made on swan wing bones that have been found at Isturitz, France. However, the rockshelter at La Roque contained 30,000 year-old deposits which had been disturbed more recently in the Middle Ages. As a result its age is uncertain. P&EE, Christy Collection
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Bone flute, Paleolithic (Perigordian), about 32,000 years old. The oldest known...

Swimming reindeer, Late Magdalenien, around 12.500 years old. From the rock shalter of Monastruc, Tarn et Garonne, France. One of the most beautiful pieces of Stone Age art ever found. It shows two reindeer, one behind the other, the figure in front is a female with smaller body and antlers, her coat is delicately shaded. The larger male figure is not shaded but his strong body is clearly carved. On both animals the antlers are laid back and the legs are folded underneath. With their noses up and the antlers back the carving seems to show the reindeer swimming. Mammoth tusk ivory.
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Swimming reindeer, Late Magdalenien, around 12.500 years old. From the rock shal...

Spearthrower carved as a mammoth, Late Magdalenian, about 12,500 years old. Spearthrowers came into use about 18,000 years ago in western Europe. They consist of a straight handle with a hook at one end. The bottom of the spear fits against the hook and the spear shaft and spearthrower handle are held together with the hook end by the shoulder. Launching the spear in this way sends it with more force and speed and across a longer distance than if it was simply thrown by hand. The hook ends of spearthrowers are frequently decorated with an animal. This example from Montastruc, Tarn-et-Garonne, France, shows a mammoth. It is the only known example which has a hole for an eye (which probably held an insert of bone or stone). The hook is also unusual because it is an ancient repair. The original hook carved from the antler broke off and was mended by cutting a slot on the back and inserting a bone or antler replacement. The mammoth's tusks appear on each side of the handle, most of which was broken off in ancient times. P&EE, Sieveking Catalogue no. 555
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Spearthrower carved as a mammoth, Late Magdalenian, about 12,500 years old. Spea...

Perforated baton with horse and fish engravings, Late Magdalenian, about 12,500 years old. Antler batons first appeared in the early Upper Palaeolithic of western Europe about 35,000 years ago. By the Late Upper Palaeolithic Magdalenian period, about 14,000-10,000 years ago, they were in common use and often richly decorated. Tthe use or uses of batons are not known. It was once thought that they must have been symbols of power, because of the decoration. However, they could also have been used in making string and rope, for softening leather straps or as parts of roping systems used in hunting. This baton from La Madeleine is made on the main stem of the antler from which the branches or tines have been cut off. It has two holes surrounded by deep grooves. Like many batons, this example is decorated with animals. On the right end facing left is a male horse, his feet coming together and tail flying as he runs. Two fish, one overlapping the head of the horse, swim towards the perforated end. On the opposite a shoal of fish fill the middle area. Each fish is infilled with lines. Such infilled fish and horses are typical of the later Magdalenian. P&EE, Sieveking Catalogue no. 312
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Perforated baton with horse and fish engravings, Late Magdalenian, about 12,500...

Jadeite axe head, Neolithic, c4000-c2000 BC. This elegant axe has been polished all over and would have required many hours of careful labour. It is in pristine condition, and it is unlikely that it was ever intended for practical use. Its function was probably ceremonial and symbolic. Though found in England, the axe was made from stone quarried in Northern Italy. Such objects might travel long distances, being passed from community to community as part of a formal exchange of gifts. We know that jadeite axes were entering the country from the beginning of the Neolithic period: one was placed beside the Sweet Track, a wooden walkway constructed about 6000 years ago to aid movement over marshy ground in the Somerset Levels. This was probably an offering of some kind, given that such a thing would have been greatly prized. P&EE, 1901 2-6 1
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Jadeite axe head, Neolithic, c4000-c2000 BC. This elegant axe has been polished...

Hoxne handaxe, Lower Palaeolithic, about 400,000 years ago, from Hoxne, Suffolk, England. This handaxe has been carefully flaked on both faces to produce a pointed form. The two sharp cutting edges mean that the handaxe could have been used as a general purpose butchery tool, or for other cutting tasks.The site at Hoxne has been the subject of several excavations. The most recent, in the 1970s, uncovered extensive flint working areas on the edge of an ancient river. Analysis of pollen and of animal bones, including elephant, rhinoceros and lion, has shown that humans occupied the site towards the end of a warm period, or interglacial, about 400,000 years ago. This period has been named the 'Hoxnian interglacial' after the site. P&EE, Society of Antiquaries Loan
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Hoxne handaxe, Lower Palaeolithic, about 400,000 years ago, from Hoxne, Suffolk,...