Tag Archives: Mesolithic

Clearing dark Woods during the Neolithic of Central and North Europa

These are some heavy flint-axes from late Neolithic scandinavia, wich were used for wood-cleaning. Europe has some of the highest cropland area in the world. Forest clearing in Europe has been documented as far back as the Neolithic culture some … Continue reading

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Interpersonal Violence in Paleolithic and Mesolithic Societies

These are razor sharp microlithic arrowheads from the middle to late Ertebølle period. Such artifacts could not only be successfully used for hunting animals, but also for killing humans. Biological anthropologists argue for a continuity of an aggressive instinct from … Continue reading

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Late Mesolithic at Budel / NL

Late Mesolithic Microliths from Budel, a small village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. The raw material is flint and a very fine grained Quartzite (most probably Wommersom Quartzite, from a raw material procurement area 80 km away). With … Continue reading

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Mesolithic Pics from Portugal

Pics, made from medium sized beach pebbles from the Douro River, near Vila Nova de Gaia / Portugal. Picks can be can be found at sites of virtually any pre- and protohistoric sites in Galicia and the Northern Atlantic Fassade … Continue reading

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Thumbnail Scrapers

Thumbnail scrapers are, as the name suggests, very tiny. Usually they are retouched around the top and along the sides of the flake or a short blade. Although a limited number of such artifacts from Mesolithic sites have been recognized … Continue reading

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Drills from the Mesolithic of Demark

It is highly questionable if the typological names of prehistoric stone tools are reliable in terms of understanding their function. For example a “scraper” can also be a cutting tool or a core.  In the case of drills and borers, … Continue reading

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Mesolithic Times at the Baltic sea

In Northern Germany and South Denmark the earliest Mesolithic (Maglemose Complex) lasted from 9,6 until 6,5 cal.B.C. It coincided with the Pre-Boreal, Boreal and the early Atlantic-period. The Pre-Boreal began with a sudden rise in temperatures (about 7° within 50 … Continue reading

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