After a successful hunt, people in the Mesolithic period made use of all parts of the dead animal to make the things they needed to survive. This tool is called an adze. It is made out of a bone from an aurochs, a type of wild cattle, and shows the importance of wood in the Mesolithic period. It is decorated, showing that these hunter-gatherer people also had the time and inclination to make their possessions look attractive.
From
The River Thames at Hammersmith
Date
7596 – 7508 BC
Culture
Mesolithic period
Material
long bone, perhaps the thigh, of an aurochs
Dimensions
length: 21.4 cm
width: 10 cm
thickness: 7.5 cm
Museum
British Museum
(Please always check with the museum that the object is on display before travelling)