Saltley handaxe
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| Saltley handaxe | |
|---|---|
| Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:InfoboxImage/data' not found. The handaxe as illustrated by John Evans in 1897 | |
| Material | Quartzite |
| Length | c. 10 cm |
| Created | c. 500,000 years ago by Homo heidelbergensis |
| Period/culture | Paleolithic |
| Discovered | 1890 Birmingham, England, United Kingdom |
| Present location | Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, England, United Kingdom |
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The Saltley handaxe is a quartzite hand axe found in the gravels of the valley of the River Rea in the Saltley area of Birmingham, England in 1890. Believed to be around 500,000 years old,[1] it was the first Homo artifact from the Paleolithic era found in the English Midlands, which had previously been considered not to have been inhabited before the end of the last glacial period.[2]
The axe is around 10 cm long and was formed from a brown piece of quartzite.[3] It would have been used by members of the Homo species Homo heidelbergensis,[4] but its rounded edges and manufacture from a material not present locally suggest that it was not found in situ, but was transported to its find site by the action of glacial meltwater.[3] The find was documented and illustrated by the archaeologist John Evans in his book Ancient Stone Implements of Britain in 1897,[2] who commented that "the question now arises whether the assumed absence of Palaeolithic implements over this area may not be due to their not having yet been found, and not to their non-existence".[4]
It is now in the collection of Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.[5]
See also
- Gray's Inn Lane Hand Axe in London
References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."An Introduction To Birmingham's Archaeology". Birmingham City Council. 22 January 2009. Archived from the original on 9 June 2008. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."A history of archaeological research in the Trent Valley". Trent Valley Palaeolithic Project. 2006. Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hodder, Michael A. (2004). Birmingham: the hidden history. Tempus. pp. 21–23. ISBN 0-7524-3135-8.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Buteux, Simon; Lang, Alex (2003). "Lost but not forgotten: the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic occupation of the West Midlands" (doc). West Midlands Regional Research Framework for Archaeology. University of Birmingham Institute of Archaeology & Antiquity. Retrieved 12 July 2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."MONUMENT NO. 1234911". Pastscape - National Monuments Record. English Heritage. 1999. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
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