Photos of wonderful and inspiring Neolithic & Prehistoric Sites and Art Antiquities of Europe, Near East and North Africa. Photos by photographer Paul E Williams
Photos of Prehistoric & Neolithic Sites & Art
Photos of Neolithic and prehistoric archaeological sites, prehistoric art and prehistoric artefacts. Photos of prehistoric stone circles, dolmen burial sites, prehistoric rock art and neolithic village ruins.
Prehistoric refers to the periods and civilisations that left no written records of their existence. This means that the dating of prehistory varies in different parts of the world. For example the prehistoric iron age cultures of Orkney left no written record whilst the Hittites of the Near East who lived at the same time did.
The Enlightenment of the early 19the century began the idea of prehistory as a way of separating early primitive man from what they saw as the great civilisations and therefore sophisticated cultures of antiquity, such as the Egyptians and Greeks.
This led to prehistory being largely ignored by the Enlightenment and it was not until the 1970’s, when radiocarbon dating opened the door to British prehistory, that the prehistoric civilisations of the British Isles have been seriously.
New archaeological technique have led to the beginning of an understanding of the incredible achievements of prehistoric man. Neolithic means new stone age and refers to the period before metal tools and weapons were invented.
During this period people started to settle and make farming and fishing settlements. Around 9500 BC the Sumarians in Mesopotamia started the first known agricultural civilisations. By 3000 BC settled communities were spread right across the world.
Once people stopped being nomadic hunter gathers they started creating civilisations with cultural activities. Monumental building started with great sites like Stonehenge and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The cultures of the Near East quickly created stable systems that used writing in their administrations.
Slowly the mysteries of these civilisations became unlocked once their language on their clay tablets and artworks were understood.The civilisations of northern Europe did not develop writing so still remain a mystery today. They left us though great monumental archaeological remains and the study of these and new finds are opening the door on the Neolithic past of northern Europe.