The Digital Atlas of Innovations presents the many great as well as small technical and social innovations in the early history of humankind in dynamic maps. Where was the oldest evidence for the wheel and the wagon found? How did these and other major technologies occur and become widespread throughout Europe and Asia – Eurasia – during the following one thousand years?
Read MoreInnovations
Wheeled Vehicles
4000 to 1000 BC
The wheel is one of the most important inventions of humankind. Starting in the Late Neolithic period it revolutionised the transport of heavy loads.
Halberds
3800 to 1300 BC
Halberds are the oldest weapon produced in Europe, specifically for battle with other persons. They were invented in the Late Neolithic period.
Anthropomorphic Steles (incomplete)
3700 to 2200 BC
Steles carved from stone are a social innovation. They show males wearing jewellery and bearing weapons; females are seldom represented.
Ploughs and the Use of Animal Traction (incomplete)
6500 to 500 BC
Ever since the Neolithic period the use of cattle as draught animals served not only for moving heavy loads, but also for pulling vehicles and machines, like the plough. The plough made it possible to reach and loosen deeper layers of earth. It revolutionised crop cultivation in the Neolithic.
What are Innovations?
Further Information on Innovations from the Prehistoric Period and Antiquity.
Read MoreEvents
Recent and Current Public Events Organized Around Prehistoric and Ancient Innovations.
The Digital Atlas of Innovations is a research programme of the Eurasia Department of the German Archaeological Institute and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science within the Excellence Cluster TOPOI. Here you will find current and past public events organized on the topic of prehistoric and ancient innovations.
Move swift as the wind. Body Techniques and Innovation in the Development of Early Weaponry. Vortrag von Dr. Christian Horn (Institut für Prähistorische Archäologie, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel)
12.11.2014 |
Berlin, TOPOI-Haus Mitte
Further reading: 1
Contextualising Technical Innovations in Prehistory. Internationale Konferenz, organisiert von Jürgen Renn, Florian Klimscha & Svend Hansen
24.11-26.11.2014 |
Berlin, Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte
Glas und Glasproduktion in Ur- und Frühgeschichtlicher Zeit. Herstellungstechnik, Adaption und Diffusion von Glastechniken. Vortragsreihe von Florian Klimscha & Hansjörg Nüsse
13.11.2014-19.2.2015 |
Freie Universität Berlin, verschiedene Hörsäle
New Research on the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age in the Southern Levant. Vortrag von Dr. Ianir Milevski (Israel Antiquities Authority)
21.10.2014 |
Berlin, Lepsius Kolleg des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts
Copper and Bronze Finds and their Importance for Long Distance Contacts in Ancient Anatolia. Vortrag von Prof. Dr. Derya Yilmaz
21.5.2014 |
Berlin, Lepsius Kolleg des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts
Prehistoric Networks in the Longue Durée: Palaeolithic Innovations enabling the Neolithic Revolution. Internationale Konferenz, organisiert von Svend Hansen, Florian Klimscha & Jürgen Renn.
9.12-11.12.2015 |
Berlin, TOPOI-Haus Dahlem
„O Happy Dagger!“ Innovation, Daggers and the Start of the Metal Ages. Vortrag von Dr. Catherin Frieman (Department of Archaeology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australien).
7.7.2015 |
Berlin, Lepsius Kolleg des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts
Further reading: 1
Fortbewegung und Transport im Alten Ägypten. Innovationen und ihre (Nicht-) Akzeptanz. Vortrag von Dr. Heidi Köpp (Seminar für Ägyptologie, Universität Trier).
11.2.2015 |
Berlin, TOPOI-Haus Dahlem
Further reading: 1
Specialized Pastoralism and Social Stratification. Vortrag von Dr. Austin Hill (Department of Archaeology, University of Conneticut, USA)
11.2.2015 |
Berlin, Lepsius Kolleg des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts
Further reading: 1
Copper and Bronze Axes: Interregional Contacts in the Late 4th and 3rd Millennium. Vortrag von Dr. Vajk Szeverényi.
14.12.2016 |
Berlin, Lepsius Kolleg des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts
Innovations in the Technologies of Ancient Glass. Internationale Konferenz, organisiert von Florian Klimscha & Svend Hansen.
14.7.2016-15.7.2016 |
Berlin, TOPOI-Haus Dahlem
Mobile Art of North East Europe’s Forest Zone Hunter-Gatherer-Fishers of 4000-2500. A Review. Vortrag von Dr. Ekaterina Kashina (Staatliches Museum Moskau, Russische Föderation).
5.7.2016 |
Berlin, Lepsius Kolleg des Deutschen Archäologischen Institut
Further Reading
Subject-specific Bibliography for Individual Topics.
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