The Neolithic Age (6500–1500 BC) is the period in which humanity turned from a largely nomadic way of life towards a life of farming and settling. Tracking and categorizing neolithic cultures is very difficult, due to the age, condition and datability of the archaeologic evidence found. One way to do it is to compare the artistic expression of different peoples in their artifacts. Pottery makes categorizing easiest, as it survives the passing of millennia and is often highly decorated.
This A0 sized Poster shows neolithic cultures in Europe categorized by when they where active, where they lived and what their typical pottery looked like. It also includes short, informative texts, informing the viewer on what we know about neolithic life.
I drew almost 150 artifacts in ink for this poster, to give the pottery a unified look that makes it easy to compare them directly, something which is otherwise impossible as they are spread around in museums in all over europe and the world.
The colour palette reflects the way these artifacts are typically found: Inside some deeper and older layer of soil, that can tell archeologist more about their age.
This project is very dear to me, as it allowed me to combine my interest in prehistoric times with my design work. I'd love to do something like it again.
