136 Hamburg-Hamm
These two high-quality tools come from the district of Hamm, east of the Berliner Tor. The pierced axe, a so-called shoe last wedge, is a clear indication of trade between the last gatherers and hunters on the Elbe and the earliest farmers from central Germany. The oldest Bronze Age find from the district is the bronze heel axe, which, like the shoe's last wedge, was possibly used for woodworking.
Info: Showcase 136
Pierced Shoe Last Wedge
Age: 5.000 - 3.900 v. Chr. Mesolithic period - Neolithic period
Mesolithic period:
With the beginning of the post-glacial period, the Mesolithic phase begins in northern Germany, marking the transition from the Old Stone Age to the New Stone Age. In post-glacial forests, red deer and wild boar were now available to people, and on the sea and inland lake coasts, mussels, fish and waterfowl were also available as the main sources of animal protein. Plants, however, played a particularly important role in the diet of Mesolithic Age forest hunters. Hazelnuts, wild vegetables, herbs and fruits were collected on a large scale.
Neolithic period
In the Neolithic period, people began for the first time to actively shape and change their environment: sedentarisation was one of the essential prerequisites for civilisational progress. Farmers cleared forests for their settlements, fields and for keeping livestock. They built their farms out of wooden posts, wattle and daub and clay. Cattle, pigs, goats and sheep are recorded as domestic animals. The diet of the people was now enriched by cereals such as wheat and barley, which were cultivated on farmland.
Material: Stone
Location: Hamm
North German Heel Hatchet
Age: 1.500 - 950 v. Chr. Bronze Age
Bronze Age: Metal extraction began as early as 6,000 years ago in the Middle East, but reached Europe not until much later. Bronze, a copper-tin alloy, first appeared in Western Europe around 1800 BC. The use of metal was accompanied by historical developments of the greatest importance. Mining and processing required distribution; i.e., exchange and transport of raw materials. There were numerous transport routes and means for large quantities of ore and finished products. Transport was obviously by cart - which presupposed the general spread of the wheel - but also across rivers by raft and dugout canoe.
Material: Bronze
Location: Hamm