Prehistory
Pentre Ifan: Neolithic Portal Dolmen in Pembrokeshire, Wales
A portal dolmen that survives as one of the most impressive megalithic monuments in Britain, in state care since 1884.
Era · Before c. 3000 BC
Prehistory
From the formation of Earth and the age of dinosaurs to the first cave art and monuments, before writing was invented.
Prehistory
Watson Brake: North America's Oldest Known Mound Complex
The oldest known large mound complex in North America, proving that hunter-gatherers built monumental earthworks thousands of years before farming.
Prehistory
Norte Chico Civilization: Origins of the Americas' Oldest Cities
The earliest known complex society in the Americas, whose monumental towns set patterns later followed by Andean civilizations.
Prehistory
Hunebedden: The Neolithic Megalithic Tombs of Drenthe
The largest surviving group of Neolithic megaliths in the Netherlands, protected by law since 1734.
Prehistory
Arslantepe: Early Palace and the World's Oldest Swords
An early centre of public administration whose palace and metal hoard were inscribed with the site on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2021.
Prehistory
Gebel el-Arak Knife: A Predynastic Egyptian Masterpiece
The knife became a key piece of evidence for contact between late Predynastic Egypt and Uruk-period Mesopotamia.
Prehistory
Ness of Brodgar: Orkney's Neolithic Ceremonial Complex
One of the most important Neolithic sites in north-western Europe, revealing monumental stone architecture at the heart of Neolithic Orkney.
Prehistory
Majiayao Culture: Painted Pottery of the Upper Yellow River
A Neolithic culture of millet farmers whose painted pottery and early metalwork shaped north-western China before the Bronze Age.
Prehistory
Yamnaya Culture: Steppe Herders Who Reshaped Europe's Genes
A mobile herding culture whose descendants spread across much of Europe and Asia, leaving a lasting genetic legacy and probably carrying Indo-European languages.
Prehistory
Liangzhu: Neolithic Water City and Jade Culture of China
An early complex society with a walled capital, large-scale water management and ritual jades, recognised by UNESCO as evidence of early statehood in China.
Prehistory
Ötzi the Iceman: The 5,300-Year-Old Mummy of the Alps
Europe's oldest known natural human mummy, preserving clothing, tools and medical evidence from the Copper Age.
Prehistory
Newgrange: Ireland's Neolithic Passage Tomb and Winter Solstice
A great passage tomb aligned on the midwinter sunrise, now the centrepiece of the Brú na Bóinne UNESCO World Heritage Site.