A collection of 8 miniature bronze axehead pendants at different stages of finish and polish.

Finishing and polishing these miniature bronze axehead pendants on a cold winters day. Thank goodness @ancientcraftuk.bsky.social has the furnace going to cast some (much larger) MBA basal looped spears! 😍

No idea sadly, I know there is an axe from Wales that has textile remains. Almost definitely not the same one though.

I did! I’ll grab it from the collection of flaked axes and take a picture. Need to grind and polish it someday soon. That was a long walk with all that flint!

@nasadler.bsky.social Nice to see you on the Prehistory Guys recording earlier. Hope you’re keeping well!

Might have to ask for a follow, can’t seem to message you (you can unfollow after 😉)

@elliescerri.bsky.social Hey! Hope you’re keeping well! Would you mind if I dropped you a message about some sites to visit in Malta? (Finally getting the chance to visit!)

It must be a recent change (I would guess dictated by the channel). It was originally just “Ice Age”, then “Ice Age: A frozen world”, now this. It’s also had a long delay since filmed ended in 2022.

This was probably due to defence/offence and an opportunity to show status through martial prowess. You can imagine cattle raiding was common at this time and while herders wanted to protect their livestock from other Neolithic groups, the last Mesolithic groups must have also seen an opportunity.

Raids on enclosures saw the use of hundreds of flint-tipped arrows that would have rained down on the occupants at places like Crickley Hill.

Noticeably, the faunal remains at Neolithic sites shows a shift away from wild hunted game, and yet archery equipment remains common.

With this new way of life and larger populations came a noticeable increase in violence towards people of all ages and sexes. Significant proportions of skeletal remains in Neolithic tombs show blunt force trauma that would have been fatal.

But the downsides are the hard work involved that left its mark on peoples bones and shortened their average lifespan. Grinding large quantities of grain, breaking ground with antlers and felling trees all took its toll. Then there is the violence.

This new method of producing food might mean you don't have to move as much on a seasonal basis, and offer the opportunity for population growth. We think of bread when talking about grain, but it can also be used for brewing, and Neolithic people didn't miss the opportunity!

Further evidence from Denmark shows that an individual of Mesolithic hunter-gatherer ancestry lived with the new agriculturalists before they were brutally killed. Are we seeing a violent takeover? New ideas & technology spreading? Colonisation? Or a combination?

📸 @emlouwynjones.bsky.social

Agriculture, the technology that changed the world (and us)

A seasonal cycle of moving to different campsites to utilise food sources changed to working the land. Neolithic farmers appear to have genetically dominated the smaller hunter-gatherer groups within a short period of time. 🏺🦣🧪

Just got to the druids and now UFO landing strips. How disappointing

Yeah….its going downhill again…

Definitely better now Alison, Mike, Jennifer and others have appeared

We’re about 5 mins in, not great 😬

How did people make arrowheads in the Stone Age?

A flake of stone would be trimmed, then have hundreds of tiny flakes detached using an antler point. The knapper would put pressure on the flaker tool from their abdomen while the flake was braced again a leg.

🎥 @emlouwynjones.bsky.social

Not made the Towie ball yet, but have made several others. Drop me a message!

My gorgeous Christmas present 💝 By the hands of lovely @emlouwynjones.bsky.social and @ancientcraftuk.bsky.social

It’s being recorded with Portable Antiquities soon hopefully, but their aim is just to record rather than keep.

I have good days and bad (the bad days I go back to bronze casting 🙄)

Well, it’s finally happened, one for the bucket list.

This week I found a flint handaxe at Happisburgh while walking with friends. Their shared concern was due to my delighted dancing looking like I was having a funny turn!

Handaxes on the move!

We’ve been busy making lots of replica prehistoric goodies for Christmas presents. But a couple found themselves on a plane with @profaliceroberts.bsky.social heading to Australia for her Cells to Civilisation tour!

Here’s one of Palaeolithic handaxes being made:
🏺 🦣 🧪

We’re thinking of you all!

That is incredible. 🏺

I have many new followers since I last introduced myself. I'm an #archaeologist at Yale, and one of my specialties is identifying the geological origins of obsidian artifacts using nondestructive chemical tests. This carved obsidian bowl, for example, originated from a source in northeastern Turkey.

Amygdaloid flint handaxe with bifacial retouch made from a large nodule of tan flint. The butt (lower part) and right side are more heavily patinated, having a darker brown color but still fresh flint scars.

In honor of #FlintFriday, get a load of this chonky beauty from the Collection Smith at UdeM: a textbook amygdaloid Acheulean handaxe on tan flint. I especially dig the differential patination shown by color differences that suggests one of two possible trajectories in this tool's use-life... 1/3

I am often asked what I do with the flakes from flintknapping when making a large tool (and am occasionally accused of being wasteful). But many are saved for arrowheads or other tools, while others are saved for workshops so students can practice making scrapers and flake tools.