this post was submitted on 26 Jan 2025
116 points (99.2% liked)

[Dormant] moved to !historyartifacts@piefed.social

1377 readers
1 users here now

COMM MOVED TO !historyartifacts@piefed.social

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

This flint axe was found in 1912 in West Tofts, a now-abandoned village in the UK between Cambridge and Norwich, It was made by a Homo heidelbergensis or possibly a Neanderthal, somewhere between 300,000 and 500,000 years ago.

This kind of tool is fairly common throughout western Europe and Africa, but this specimen is unique for having a Cretaceous-era fossil of a spiny oyster in the centre that suggests the axe's maker wanted the shell on it as an adornment.

It's kept in the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge, and you can see more details on their web site.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] rockSlayer@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

We very well could be. The person that made this clearly didn't make it to any expectations to what art is "supposed" to be

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If they did that'd be fascinating to know!

[–] swab148@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago

Acheuluean knappers: we're gonna launder so much money