Musée de Préhistoire

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n March 2023, the “Museum of Prehistory”, founded by Professor Hélène Danthine in the late 1930s, entered a phase of renovation. This project, led by Veerle Rots in collaboration with Pierre Noiret, took place in two main phases. The first phase focused on the section of the museum devoted to human evolution. It was mainly carried out by Lucie Van Luchene and Veerle Rots, with Sophie Bodart and Pierre Noiret reviewing the texts. The second phase focused on material culture and Belgian archaeological sites. This time, Lucie Van Luchene and Veerle Rots were assisted by Pierre Noiret in selecting objects from the museum's collections, and by Olivier Touzé in writing the texts and designing the displays. After two years of work, the museum's renovation is now completed.

The museum has a new layout, combining a section devoted to human evolution with three other sections focusing on archaeological material:

• The Evolution section explores the history of hominins, from Sahelanthropus tchadensis (approximately 7 million years ago) to species belonging to the genus Homo, of which Homo sapiens is now the only representative. It features iconic reproductions such as Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis) and the Taung Child (Australopithecus africanus), as well as more recently identified species such as Denisovans and Homo naledi. Life-size silhouettes, topped with 3D-printed or plaster-reproduced skulls, give visitors the impression of a physical encounter with the species on display.
• The Timeline highlights the museum's African and European collections. It traces the prehistory of these two continents, from the earliest periods (the Early Stone Age in Africa, the Lower Palaeolithic in Europe) to the Metal Ages, while focusing on a few key innovations that have marked the technical history of humanity. A detour to Mesoamerica completes the tour, with a selection of finely crafted obsidian and flint tools.
• The Method section outlines the principles of the technological approach in Prehistory, applied to the study of flaked stone industries. In particular, it highlights different methods that are part of this approach – petroarchaeology, lithic technology and traceology – which together trace the complete history of stone tools, from the procurement of the rocks needed to make them to the discard of used tools. Through the integration of these methods, it is possible to reconstruct the technical behaviour and daily life of prehistoric societies.
• Finally, a section is devoted to the prehistory of our regions, from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Neolithic, via the Upper Palaeolithic and the Mesolithic. Displayed pieces mainly derive from excavations carried out by the Prehistory group of the University. Among them are remarkable engraved plaques discovered at Trou da Somme and Trou de Chaleux (Upper Palaeolithic, Magdalenian), a no less exceptional arrowhead stuck in a human fibula from the Bibiche cave (Neolithic), and Neolithic material discovered during excavations at Place Saint-Lambert.

The renovation of the Museum of Prehistory has also enabled us to develop a new museographic narrative that strengthens the museum's educational role for university students.

We would like to extend our special thanks to the University of Liège and the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts, which both contributed financially to this renovation project.