An adze is a tool used for woodworking. It is one of the first handled tools used by Hominids. It is similar...
Scope noteEven if arrows were mostly used for hunting, they could be used as war weapons. Some arrowheads have been...
Scope noteAn awl was a stone tool tapered to a point and used to punch holes in bones, teeth, shells, or wood...
Scope noteThe biface was a multifunctional tool. Its cutting edges were used to chop wood, to cut meat, or to scrape...
Scope noteA blade is a flat, long and wide stone fragment. Blades were multifunctional tools which were sharp like...
Scope noteUrsus spelaeus, commonly known as cave bear, first appeared 250,000 years ago and died out approximately...
Scope noteIn order to stock food and carry water, sedentary farmers produced remarkable clay potteries, which were...
Scope noteChasséen culture is the name given to an archaeological culture of the Middle Neolithic. Chasséens were...
Scope noteChopping tools are usually made of pebble or soft stone. A hard stone was used in order to make the cutting...
Scope noteCopper arrowheads often seem to have been used several times. Most of the time, they are found cracked or...
Scope noteThe high skill level displayed in the manufacture of a handle, added to the rarity and beauty of the...
Scope noteDuring prehistoric times, grain milling was achieved on stationary bedstones on which grains were crushed...
Scope noteIt is probably the most common, everyday tool. It is often quite straightforward, since any stone fragment or...
Scope noteA new technique of stone knapping was developed by precursors of modern humans during the Palaeolithic period...
Scope noteMicroliths are very small stone tools, usually a centimeter long or so, sometimes less. These very small...
Scope noteAxes were essential to deforestation activities, which in turn enabled the creation of farming fields, but...
Scope noteThe Bronze Age marks the coming of age of a metal industry based on copper, tin and lead.
Scope noteA spindle whorl is a disc or spherical object fitted onto the spindle to increase and maintain the speed of...
Scope noteTerra sigillata (aka samian ware) is a type of thin-walled ceramics used for table service during the Roman...
Scope noteGet ready to explore Normandy during the Neolithic Era !
The archaeology collections of the Museum contain several tens of thousands of objects.
Flint tools and flakes are predominant, but bones, potteries and iron artifacts also allow us to complement our knowledge of the past.
Most of these items were found during excavations carried out in the area. They provide invaluable information on Normandy during the Neolithic Era, 6,000 to 2,000 years BCE.
Some older items were also found, proving that there was human presence in Normandy several tens of thousands of years ago.
The archaeology collections of the Museum are divided into « historic » items, recovered during the first half of the 20th century, and other items found more recently.
An adze is a tool used for woodworking. It is one of the first handled tools used by Hominids. It is similar to an axe, except that the cutting edge is perpendicular to the handle. Most of the time, handles were made from deer antlers. The adze was used for digging, surfacing, or for trimming tree trunks, by swinging it back and forth.
Even if arrows were mostly used for hunting, they could be used as war weapons. Some arrowheads have been found in human bones.
An awl was a stone tool tapered to a point and used to punch holes in bones, teeth, shells, or wood...
The biface was a multifunctional tool. Its cutting edges were used to chop wood, to cut meat, or to scrape skins. Its tip was used to pierce holes or to unearth roots.
A blade is a flat, long and wide stone fragment. Blades were multifunctional tools which were sharp like swords. They could be used in their unprocessed form, but could also be adapted to make scrapers, chisels, microliths, etc. They could aldo be added to arrow shafts, just underneath the tip, in order to improve their efficiency.
Ursus spelaeus, commonly known as cave bear, first appeared 250,000 years ago and died out approximately 10,000 years BCE, like all Quaternary megafaunal species.
In order to stock food and carry water, sedentary farmers produced remarkable clay potteries, which were decorated with linear bands, hence the name « Linear Band Ware culture ».
Chasséen culture is the name given to an archaeological culture of the Middle Neolithic. Chasséens were farmers and herders, and they mastered pottery.
Chopping tools are usually made of pebble or soft stone. A hard stone was used in order to make the cutting edges, since the soft stone would begin to chip away once it was hit by the hard stone. These tools of various dimensions are typical of ancient African industry and were ever-present during Lower and Middle Palaeolithic .
Copper arrowheads often seem to have been used several times. Most of the time, they are found cracked or bent. Metal arrowheads were probably used for hunting. Their use meant hunters had to retrieve their preys, in order to get the arrows back and put them back in service as soon as possible. Arrows were used primarily as hunting weapons, but they could also be used as currency for goods.
The high skill level displayed in the manufacture of a handle, added to the rarity and beauty of the materials used imply that daggers were used for « ceremonial » purposes. For example, they were used at the beginning of harvest seasons.
During prehistoric times, grain milling was achieved on stationary bedstones on which grains were crushed using a circular motion of a smaller stone.
It is probably the most common, everyday tool. It is often quite straightforward, since any stone fragment or silex with a sharp edge could be used as a blade.
A new technique of stone knapping was developed by precursors of modern humans during the Palaeolithic period : the « Levallois technique ». This technique resulted in the production of more sophisticated flakes, blades, or points.
Microliths are very small stone tools, usually a centimeter long or so, sometimes less. These very small tools are usually produced from flint blades.
Axes were essential to deforestation activities, which in turn enabled the creation of farming fields, but they were also used to chop trees and for carpentry works. The great care given to the production of polished tools had technical purposes, but also aesthetic and social purposes.
The Bronze Age marks the coming of age of a metal industry based on copper, tin and lead.
A spindle whorl is a disc or spherical object fitted onto the spindle to increase and maintain the speed of the spin.
Terra sigillata (aka samian ware) is a type of thin-walled ceramics used for table service during the Roman Empire.
An adze is a tool used for woodworking. It is one of the first handled tools used by Hominids. It is similar...
Scope noteEven if arrows were mostly used for hunting, they could be used as war weapons. Some arrowheads have been...
Scope noteAn awl was a stone tool tapered to a point and used to punch holes in bones, teeth, shells, or wood...
Scope noteThe biface was a multifunctional tool. Its cutting edges were used to chop wood, to cut meat, or to scrape...
Scope noteA blade is a flat, long and wide stone fragment. Blades were multifunctional tools which were sharp like...
Scope noteUrsus spelaeus, commonly known as cave bear, first appeared 250,000 years ago and died out approximately...
Scope noteIn order to stock food and carry water, sedentary farmers produced remarkable clay potteries, which were...
Scope noteChasséen culture is the name given to an archaeological culture of the Middle Neolithic. Chasséens were...
Scope noteChopping tools are usually made of pebble or soft stone. A hard stone was used in order to make the cutting...
Scope noteCopper arrowheads often seem to have been used several times. Most of the time, they are found cracked or...
Scope noteThe high skill level displayed in the manufacture of a handle, added to the rarity and beauty of the...
Scope noteDuring prehistoric times, grain milling was achieved on stationary bedstones on which grains were crushed...
Scope noteIt is probably the most common, everyday tool. It is often quite straightforward, since any stone fragment or...
Scope noteA new technique of stone knapping was developed by precursors of modern humans during the Palaeolithic period...
Scope noteMicroliths are very small stone tools, usually a centimeter long or so, sometimes less. These very small...
Scope noteAxes were essential to deforestation activities, which in turn enabled the creation of farming fields, but...
Scope noteThe Bronze Age marks the coming of age of a metal industry based on copper, tin and lead.
Scope noteA spindle whorl is a disc or spherical object fitted onto the spindle to increase and maintain the speed of...
Scope noteTerra sigillata (aka samian ware) is a type of thin-walled ceramics used for table service during the Roman...
Scope note