The earliest surviving works of art are cave paintings and portable sculptures of humans or animals. Little is known about the original intention or meaning of prehistoric works. Buildings such as Stonehenge show the ability of prehistoric people to build elaborate religious structures using the post and lintel system of construction.
1372053023 | Paleolithic | Old Stone Age: about 2,500,000 to 200,000 years ago | 1 | |
1372053024 | Neolithic | New Stone Age: starts around 9000 BCE | 2 | |
1372053025 | Archaeology | the scientific study of ancient people and cultures principally revealed through excavation | 3 | |
1372053026 | Cromlech | a circle of megaliths | 4 | |
1372053027 | Megalith | a stone of great size used in the construction of a prehistoric structure | 5 | |
1372053028 | Menhir | large uncut stone erected as a monument in the prehistoric era | 6 | |
1372053029 | Mortise and Tenon | a groove cut into stone or wood, called a mortise that i shaped to receive a tenon, or projection, of the same dimensions | 7 | |
1372053030 | Post and lintel | a method of construction in which two posts support a horizontal beam called a lintel | 8 |