Prehistory

01 · INTRODUCTION · HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

Learning to Understand the World

Observing nature, transforming materials and sharing what was learned.

02 · INTRODUCTION · VISIT KEYS

What You Will Find and Why

Each animal, object, place and character helps answer a question.

01 · GESTURE · MIDDLE PALAEOLITHIC

Engraved stone

A few lines engraved on a cave floor show that someone wanted to leave a mark.

02 · SOUND · AURIGNACIAN

Hohle Fels flute

Four holes survive; a fifth is reconstructed at the broken end.

03 · CULTURE · BODY · SOUND · DOCUMENTARY LIMIT

Music, dance and gatherings

Ancient images may show people dancing, but they do not tell us what their dance was like.

04 · CULTURE · INFORMATION · ≈77,000–75,000 YEARS

Engraved ochre from Blombos

Someone engraved these lines around 75,000 years ago. We still do not know what they meant.

05 · MOBILIARY ART · MIDDLE MAGDALENIAN · MAS-D'AZIL

Fawn spear-thrower

This tool helped launch projectiles further and was decorated with animal figures.

06 · AURIGNACIAN · ≈40,000 YEARS · MAMMOTH IVORY

Lion-man

Whoever carved it combined human and animal traits. We do not know what it represented for their community.

07 · EASTERN GRAVETTIAN · ≈23,000–21,000 YEARS

Zaraysk Bison

This small bison figure retains ochre traces and was found placed upside down in a pit.

08 · MORAVIAN GRAVETTIAN · ≈28,000 YEARS CAL BP

Brno II Articulated Figure

The holes in its pieces suggest they could be joined. We do not know if it was used as a puppet.

09 · MIDDLE MAGDALENIAN · ≈18,000–16,000 YEARS

Rondelle de Mas-d'Azil

A small engraved disc shows people and animals, but we do not know what it was used for.

10 · EARLY NEOLITHIC CARDIAL · VI–V MILLENNIA BCE

Twin-chambered vessel from Cova de l’Or

This object has two connected vessels. Its form survives, but its use remains an open question.

11 · MAGDALENIAN · LIGHT, FAT AND ENGRAVED STONE

Lamp from La Mouthe

This stone lamp has an engraved ibex head on the handle.

12 · EUROPE · CANTABRIA

Altamira

Look at the backs and bellies of the bison: their painters used the rock's shapes to give them volume.

13 · EUROPE · DORDOGNE

Lascaux

Aurochs, horses and deer cover the walls. Notice their sizes and how the figures are distributed.

14 · AFRICA · ALGERIA

Tassili n’Ajjer

The paintings show people and animals from times when the Sahara was wetter.

15 · AFRICA · MALOTI-DRAKENSBERG

Eland Cave

This large antelope held importance in the diet and beliefs of San communities.

16 · ASIA · SULAWESI

Leang Karampuang

A pig and three figures form a scene painted at least 51,200 years ago, according to its published dating.

17 · ASIA · CENTRAL INDIA

Bhimbetka

Some figures are painted over others: different generations used the same walls.

18 · OCEANIA · BININJ/MUNGGUY COUNTRY

Kakadu

Some paintings show the skeleton and organs of animals, in addition to their silhouette.

19 · OCEANIA · CAPE YORK

Quinkan Country

These figures remain part of the traditions of the region's Aboriginal communities.

20 · AMERICAS · PATAGONIA

Cueva de las Manos

To leave these silhouettes, pigment was applied around hands placed on the rock.

21 · AMERICAS · BAJA CALIFORNIA

Sierra de San Francisco

Some human figures are larger than a real person and are painted in red and black.

01 · PLACE · PRE-POTTERY NEOLITHIC

Göbekli Tepe

Monumental architecture before cities.

02 · STRUCTURAL WOOD · AT LEAST 476,000 ± 23,000 YEARS

Kalambo Falls

A notch allowed the two logs to interlock. The wood preserves the work marks.

03 · CAMP · ≈23,000 YEARS

Ohalo II

Remains of six huts, hearths and areas where their inhabitants carried out various tasks are preserved.

04 · JERICHO · 9TH–8TH MILLENNIUM BCE

Tell es-Sultan

Building the tower, wall and ditch required shared labour. Their exact function remains debated.

05 · ANATOLIA · c. 7400–6200 BCE

Çatalhöyük

The houses were clustered together. Their inhabitants moved across the roofs to enter them.

06 · JŌMON · c. 3900–2200 BCE

Sannai-Maruyama

Postholes survive, but the building's height and form are a reconstruction proposal.

07 · ORKNEY · c. 3100–2500 BCE

Skara Brae

These dwellings preserve hearths, beds and storage spaces built of stone.

08 · BRÚ NA BÓINNE · LATE 4TH MILLENNIUM BCE

Newgrange

Dawn light enters the chamber at the winter solstice. The monument also had a funerary use.

01 · CHARACTER · GUIDE

Kael

Hunter, protector and first guide of Sarımğara.

02 · CHARACTER · CARE

Tala

Repairs hide clothing and helps organise camp tasks.

03 · CHARACTER · FORAGING

Sira

Compares the plants she finds and separates the samples she does not recognise.

04 · CHARACTER · MEMORY

Oru

After dinner, some people stay by the fire to listen to him.

05 · CHARACTER · ARTISAN

Lorn

Works stone, bone, and wood, and tests what each material is good for.

06 · CHARACTER · TRACKER

Bora

Observes tracks, wind and terrain before approaching an animal.

07 · FICTIONAL CHARACTER · SARIMĞARA

Ena

Ena is making a necklace for her daughter with some stones Daro brought.

08 · FICTIONAL CHARACTER · SARIMĞARA

Daro

Daro returns from his journeys with news, some stones and a promise he has not yet told at home.

09 · FICTIONAL CHARACTER · SARIMĞARA

Luma

Luma is seven years old and wants to choose one of the beads for her necklace.

10 · ARCHAEOLOGICAL INDIVIDUAL · COPPER AGE · VARNA

The Important Man of Varna

An extraordinary grave assemblage distinguishes a possible leader from around 6500 years ago.

11 · REAL PERSON · COPPER AGE · ALPS

Ötzi

Clothing, tools and body allow investigation of a life from around 5,300 years ago.

12 · PERSON · EARLY BRONZE AGE

Upton Lovell

The buried person was a woman. Her grave goods have given rise to various interpretations, including that of a goldworker.

13 · FAUNA · PLEISTOCENE

Cave bear

Although it belongs to the carnivore family, its diet was mainly vegetarian.

14 · FAUNA · BOS PRIMIGENIUS

Aurochs

The aurochs was a large wild bovine. It became extinct after coexisting for thousands of years with people.

15 · FAUNA · PANTHERA SPELAEA

Cave lion

This feline lived in cold regions. Palaeolithic depictions do not usually show a mane like that of many modern lions.

16 · FAUNA · OVIS ORIENTALIS

Wild sheep

Remains of wild sheep have been found at Göbekli Tepe. Their presence does not prove that they were already being kept in flocks.

17 · FAUNA · VULPES VULPES

Red fox

Fox bones and stone-carved figures of this animal have been found at Göbekli Tepe.

18 · COMPARATIVE FAUNA · AHL AL OUGHLAM, MOROCCO

Gazella psolea · Fossil Africa

It did not coexist with the Neolithic community we present in Sarımğara.

19 · FAUNA · FOOD SOURCE · ASIA AND AFRICA

Persian gazelle

Fast, gregarious and abundant, gazelles were for millennia one of the most widely eaten meats in southwest Asia.

01 · FUNERARY ADORNMENT · PRE-POTTERY NEOLITHIC B

'Jamila's' necklace

The necklace of a girl from Ba’ja comprised thousands of beads arranged in ten rows.

02 · TOOL · LOWER PALAEOLITHIC · ACHEULEAN

Swanscombe handaxe

A planned form in flint, knapped about 400,000 years ago on the banks of an ancient Thames.

03 · ARCHERY · MESOLITHIC AND EARLY NEOLITHIC

Holmegaard bow

A peat bog preserved the wood of the bow; a dry cave preserved sinew cords—probable bow strings—that almost never survive.

04 · TREASURES · PRE-POTTERY NEOLITHIC A

Engraved stone from Çakmaktepe

Possible animals and arrows have been identified on this stone. The interpretation of the engraving is not certain.

05 · TREASURES · FOOD · PRE-POTTERY NEOLITHIC

Grinding stone from Çakmaktepe

At Çakmaktepe, stones for grinding food were found, preceding fully established agriculture.

06 · TREASURES · SEWING · TYPOLOGICAL RECONSTRUCTION

Bone needle

Its point pierces the material and the eye allows the thread to pass through. Needles are better preserved than many garments.

07 · PRE-POTTERY NEOLITHIC B · 8TH MILLENNIUM BCE · FLINT

Nahal Hemar Knives

Wear helps study these knives. Their possible link to funerary practices remains an interpretation.

08 · TECHNOLOGY · MAGDALENIAN · LAUGERIE-BASSE

Bilateral harpoon

The barbs helped secure the prey. We do not know which animal was caught with this piece.

01 · FEMALE FIGURINE · AURIGNACIAN · ≈40,000 YEARS

Hohle Fels

Wear on the loop suggests this figurine may have been worn suspended.

02 · FEMALE FIGURINE · GRAVETTIAN · ≈28,000 YEARS

Lespugue

The figurine broke upon discovery. Its exaggerated forms, by contrast, are part of the original carving.

03 · PAVLOVIAN/GRAVETTIAN · ≈29,000–27,000 YEARS

Dolní Věstonice I

Analysis of the interior ruled out that the clay mixture contained powdered bone.

04 · FEMALE FIGURINE · ≈29,500 YEARS

Willendorf

The stone does not come from the find area. It resembles limestones from the Italian Alps, but a specific quarry has not been identified.

05 · EASTERN GRAVETTIAN · ≈23,000–21,000 YEARS

Kostenki I

We can study its breaks and how it was deposited. Its meaning and relationship with possible rituals remain uncertain.

01 · BELIEFS AND CURIOSITIES · RAQEFET

Drinking alongside the dead

The Raqefet remains suggest that fermented beverages were prepared in a funerary context.

02 · BELIEFS AND CURIOSITIES · DNA AND FOSSILS

Many kinds of humans

Several human species lived at the same times. Some also had offspring with each other.

03 · PRE-POTTERY NEOLITHIC B · 8TH MILLENNIUM BCE · LIMESTONE

Nahal Hemar mask

The holes allowed the mask to be fastened. We do not know if it was worn or placed on a support.

04 · URALS · C. 10,000 BCE · APPROXIMATE AND DEBATED DATING

Shigir Idol

The sculpture was preserved in a peat bog. Its exact date and the meaning of its figures remain under discussion.

05 · FINAL NEOLITHIC · ≈4000–3800 CAL BCE

El Miradero spatula-idols

These bone pieces appeared in a collective burial. Calling them 'idols' does not mean we know what belief they belonged to.

06 · LATE NEOLITHIC–EARLY CHALCOLITHIC · ALENTEJO

Staff of Anta 4

Its form and decoration have suggested a prestige object, but we do not know who used it or for what purpose.

01 · EGYPT · STATE FORMATION

Ancient Egypt

The communities of the Nile valley and delta gradually united to form a kingdom.

02 · AFRICA · HISTORICAL REGION · SUCCESSIVE KINGDOMS

Nubia

South of Egypt, a power grew that eventually came to rule it.

03 · AFRICA · CONSTELLATION OF PEOPLES, LANGUAGES AND LIVING TRADITIONS

San

Learn about the stories, knowledge and traditions of various San peoples of southern Africa.

04 · AFRICA · OASIS NETWORK · SAHARAN POLITICAL FORMATION

Garamantes

The Garamantes built underground channels to obtain water and cultivate in the oases of the Sahara.

05 · AFRICA · CONSTELLATION OF COMMUNITIES · LIVING HISTORIES

Batwa / Twa

Forests have been essential to the lives of many Batwa and Twa communities, with different histories and traditions.

06 · AFRICA · LINGUISTIC MACROHISTORY · DIVERSE SOCIETIES

Bantu worlds

Bantu languages connect many African societies. This is not a single people nor a single kingdom.

07 · AFRICA · LINGUISTIC FAMILY · CULTURAL AND POLITICAL NETWORKS

Mande Worlds

Mande oral traditions transmit stories of people, journeys and kingdoms of West Africa.

08 · MESOPOTAMIA · URUK

Mesopotamia

Some of the earliest written documents recorded quantities, products and rations.

09 · INDO · URBANISATION

Indus Valley Civilisation

Harappa allows us to follow the growth of a settlement until it became a great city.

10 · CHINA · LONGSHAN

Ancient China

A vessel so fine it looks like metal.

11 · WESTERN ASIA · IMPERIAL KINGDOM · MULTILINGUAL SOCIETY

Hittites

The Hittite kings ruled part of Anatolia and related to their neighbors through wars, trade, and treaties.

12 · SOUTH ASIA · LINGUISTIC AND RITUAL TRADITION · REGIONAL SOCIETIES

Vedic India

The Vedic texts were transmitted orally for centuries through careful memorisation techniques.

13 · WEST ASIA · HEBREW RAMA

Hebrews

The history of these communities combines archaeological remains and texts written in different eras.

14 · WESTERN ASIA · PORT CITIES · MARITIME NETWORK

Phoenicia

Phoenician cities connected different parts of the Mediterranean through navigation and trade.

15 · EUROASIAN STEPPE · HORSE PEOPLES · MOBILE CONFEDERATIONS

Scythians and Saka

The horse facilitated movement, exchange, and warfare among the peoples of the steppe.

16 · WESTERN ASIA · KINGDOM · TERRITORIAL EMPIRE

Persia

The Achaemenid Empire brought together peoples with different languages, customs and forms of government.

17 · EAST ASIA · REGIONAL STATE FORMATION

Gojoseon

To understand Gojoseon, one must distinguish foundation traditions from the remains and documents that can be dated.

18 · EAST ASIA · ARCHAEOLOGICAL CULTURE · REGIONAL SOCIETIES

Yayoi

Rice, metal and continental contacts reorganised an archipelago.

19 · GREEKS · BEGINNING IN THE MINOAN PHASE

Greeks

The route begins in Crete and continues towards Mycenae and the Greek worlds.

20 · EUROPE AND AEGEAN · ETRUSCAN CITIES · ROMAN STATE

Etruscans and Rome

Rome was not born alone: it learned from its neighbours before dominating them.

21 · EUROPE · IBERIAN PEOPLES

Iberians

The Iberian peoples shared some cultural traits, but did not form a single kingdom.

22 · EUROPE AND THE AEGEAN · LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL CONSTELLATION

Celts

Distinct communities associated with the Celtic world lived from the Atlantic to Anatolia. They never formed a single empire.

23 · EUROPE · BALKANS, AEGEAN AND LOWER DANUBE

Thracians

The settlements, graves and treasures allow us to know the Thracian peoples and their contacts with other cultures.

24 · AMERICA · LIVING CULTURAL TRADITION · FORMATIVE ROOTS · CITY-STATES

Mayas

The Maya peoples developed cities, writing and calendars, and maintained contact with other societies of Mesoamerica.

25 · AMÉRICA · MUSEUM-UMBRELLA · SEVEN ANDEAN TRADITIONS

Pre-Inca cultures

Caral, Chavín, Nazca, Moche, Tiahuanaco, Wari and Chimú had their own histories before the Inca Empire.

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Antes de las ciudades

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