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402 photos
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...

Phallic figurine, Natufian, c8005-c7996 BC. The natural shape of a calcite cobble has been used to represent the outline of the lovers. Their heads, arms and legs appear as raised areas around which the surface has been picked away with a stone point or chisel. The figures look at one another but have no faces. The arms of one hug the shoulders of the other and its knees are bent up underneath those of the slightly smaller figure. The image is also phallic whichever way you look at it. The piece was found by a Bedouin in the Wadi Khareitoun, and is thought to have come from the cave of Ain Sakhri. The sculpture may have had special significance, perhaps representing ideas about fertility or, reflecting new understanding of the part men played in reproduction. Less complex sculptures of phalli are known from other sites of this period. P&EE, 1958.10-7.1
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Phallic figurine, Natufian, c8005-c7996 BC. The natural shape of a calcite cobbl...

Rock painting of hunting a snake or serpent from Zamora, Ecuador
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Rock painting of hunting a snake or serpent from Zamora, Ecuador

Saddle quern-stone used for grinding corn. (Quern-stones are a pair of stone tools for hand grinding a wide variety of materials. The lower, stationary, stone is called a quern, whilst the upper, mobile, stone is called a handstone.) Palaeolithic stone age
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Saddle quern-stone used for grinding corn. (Quern-stones are a pair of stone too...

Gold hammer from a tomb of an excavation at Varna, Romania. Chalcolithic (also known as the copper age)
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Gold hammer from a tomb of an excavation at Varna, Romania. Chalcolithic (also k...

Headless female terracotta figurine known as Venus of Malta From Hagar Qim, Malta; 3400-3000 BCE
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Headless female terracotta figurine known as Venus of Malta From Hagar Qim, Malt...

Stone relief with animals, cattle and goat. From Megalithic temple of Tarxien, Malta; 3500 BCE
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Stone relief with animals, cattle and goat. From Megalithic temple of Tarxien,...

Rock paintings of human figures from Oum Ecnha, Libya.
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Rock paintings of human figures from Oum Ecnha, Libya.

Rock painting of a horse and rider from Oum Ecnha, Libya.
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Rock painting of a horse and rider from Oum Ecnha, Libya.

View of Stonehenge Megalithic monument, Neolithic Wiltshire, Great Britain; ca. 2750-1500 BCE See also 06-02-03/68
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View of Stonehenge Megalithic monument, Neolithic Wiltshire, Great Britain; ca...

View of Stonehenge Megalithic monument, Neolithic Wiltshire, Great Britain; ca. 2750-1500 BCE See also 06-02-03/67
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View of Stonehenge Megalithic monument, Neolithic Wiltshire, Great Britain; ca...

Polished axe-head, ca. 1800 BCE The Neolithic period is characterized by the advent of ground and polished axes and adze heads. Polishing the stone tool by grinding a fine abrasive against it gave the axe a smoother cutting edge and greater strength. Polished axes were often made of stones such as schist, which is a harder material than flint.
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Polished axe-head, ca. 1800 BCE The Neolithic period is characterized by the ad...