Flint tools. Paleolithic (ca. 85,000–35,000 years ago). Dordogne, France. UMMAA 1723 (l), UMMAA 1395 (r).

After its founding in 1922, the Museum worked quickly to assemble representative archaeological collections for use in teaching. Both of these stone tools came from Paleolithic sites in the Dordogne region of France. The one on the left was collected by British H. W. Seton-Karr, an avid collector and amateur archaeologist who donated his finds to museums around the world. The Mousterian artifact (ca. 85,000–35,000 years old) on the right derived from fieldwork of the American School of Archaeology at Castel-Merle, where several rockshelters associated with Neanderthals and early modern humans were excavated. Although there is no detailed information on the archaeological contexts in which these objects were found, the tools nonetheless provide students with valuable information on ancient stone tool technologies and forms.

Back to Day 4 or continue to Day 6.

In honor of the University of Michigan’s 2017 bicentennial, we are celebrating the remarkable archaeological and ethnographic collections and rich legacy of research and teaching at the Museum of Anthropological Archaeology by posting one entry a day for 200 days. The entries will highlight objects from the collections, museum personalities, and UMMAA expeditions. The Kelsey Museum of Archaeology is also posting each day for 200 days on Twitter and Facebook (follow along at #KMA200). After the last post, an exhibition on two centuries of archaeology at U-M opens at the Kelsey. Visit the exhibit—a joint project of the UMMAA and the Kelsey—from October 18, 2017 to May 27, 2018.