Anthropology And Archaeology

Cuba 1970 30th Anniversary of Speleological Society
This stamp set features ancient cave paintings: 1c, 4c: Ambrosio, 2c, 5c, 30c: Punta del Este, 3c: Pichardo, 13c: Garcia Robiou.

Cuba 1990 50th Anniversary of Speleological Society
This stamp portrays painting of Motivo Central by ancient cave dwellers. This piece of rock art (ca. 850 BC) was found on the ceiling of Cave No. 1 Punta del Este on Isla de la Juventud.

Spain 2001 World Heritage Sites
The Archaeological Site of Atapuerca is located near the city of Burgos, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. The karstic rock formation contains a rich fossil record of the earliest hominin residents in western Europe, from 1.2 million years ago to the Common Era.

Spain 2020 Museum of Human Evolution
Museum of Human Evolution in Burgos houses a large collection of findings from the Archaeological Site of Atapuerca. The stamp shows a fossilized skull nicknamed Miguelón (early Homo neanderthalensis) dated at 430,000 years old.

Germany 2006 150 years of Discovery of Neanderthals
The stamp shows Neander Valley near Düsseldorf, where fossilized skullcap, pelvis and assorted long bones were found in a limestone cave in 1856. The finding, known as Neanderthal 1 (40,000 years old), became the type specimen of the species Homo neanderthalensis.

Neanderthals were skilled hunters that usually hunted large animals like the Woolly Mammoth. Stone-tipped wooden spears were used for hunting and stone knives and poleaxes were used for butchering the animals or as weapons.

Neanderthal hunter, issued by Palau on March 15, 2000:

Neanderthal hunting Mammoth (on the margins), issued by Uzbekistan on May 10, 2002:

A group of Neanderthals hunting mammoths, se-tenant issued by Jersey in 1994 to commemorate the discovery of the La Cotte de St. Brelade Neanderthal site:

Mammoth skull and a Mammoth reconstruction, issued by Japan on March 25, 2005 to publicize the World Exposition "EXPO 2005" held in Aichi, Japan. Cover sent to Israel:

Neanderthal hunting Mammoth (seems to me the Mammoth doesn't excited from them), issued by France on April 19, 2008:

A set of four stamps depicting North American prehistoric animals from the Cenozoic Era (the "Age of Mammals"), including a Woolly Mammoth, issued by the USA in 1996. Cover sent to Israel:

Gibraltar 2016 UNESCO World Heritage
Gorham's Cave Complex in Gibraltar is one of the last known habitations of the Neanderthals in Europe. The limestone caves were inhabited between ca. 53,000 and 500 BC. The stamp set shows:
22p: View of the Alboran Sea from inside the cave
64p: Gorham's Cave excavation
70p: View from the sea
80p: The Gibraltar Neanderthals
£2: The scratched floor (Paleolithic)

Andorra (French) 2007 Prehistory
Balma de la Margineda and Les Cèdres are archaeological sites in the Pyrenees. Settlement at these localities began during Bronze Age. Camps at Les Cèdres were abandoned by the end of Bronze age, whereas a significant medieval settlement (1400 to 1200 AD) was found at Balma de la Margineda.

France – Monaco Joint Issue 2010 Centenary of the Institute of Human Paleontology in Paris
The design includes a view of Grotte dei Balzi Rossi in coastal cliffs near the French-Italian border. Two human skeletons, named Grimaldi man, were discovered here and are dated to Upper Paleolithic (ca. 24,000-20,000 BC). They are classified as the Early European modern humans (EEMH), or Cro-Magnons (Homo sapiens).

Thanks, KuoLC5310! the last two stamps from France and Monaco you posted shows Henri Abbé Breuil (1877–1961), a French Catholic priest and member of the Society of Jesus, archaeologist, anthropologist, ethnologist and geologist. He is noted for his studies of cave art in the Somme and Dordogne valleys as well as in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, China with Teilhard de Chardin, Ethiopia, British Somali Coast Protectorate, and especially Southern Africa.

On October 15, 1977, France issued a stamp to commemorate a century of his birthday. Here is the stamp, FDC and maxicard with commemorative postmark:



Abbe Breuil on a stamp from Guinea issued on September 30, 2011:

The Nazca Lines are a series of ancient geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. Scholars believe the Nazca Lines were created by the Nazca culture between 400 and 650 AD. The hundreds of individual figures range in complexity from simple lines to stylized hummingbirds, spiders, fish, sharks, killer whales, lizards and monkeys. Scholars differ in interpreting the purpose of the designs, but in general, they ascribe religious significance to them.

Figures from Nazca Lines, issued by Peru on June 13, 1987:

Maria Reiche (1903–1998) was a German mathematician and archaeologist who carried out research into the Nazca Lines in Peru, beginning in 1940, and had success in gaining recognition and preservation of the property. She helped educate people about the resource and gain government recognition and preservation. In 1995 the Nazca Lines were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Maria Reiche and Nazca Lines, issued by Peru on June 8, 1999:

Condor Nazca Lines on the background of the stamp issued by Japan on May 18, 1999 to commemorate centenary of Japanese immigration to Peru:

Nazca Lines Carvings, issued by Mozambique on June 30, 2010:

Italy 2001 South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology
Ötzi the Iceman and associated artifacts are on display at South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano. This 5300-year-old (Copper Age) mummified body was discovered in the Ötztal Alps near the Italian-Austrian border in 1991 and has been the subject of extensive study.

Italy 2021 Treasures of the Alta Murgia National Park
Altamura Man is a fossil of Homo neanderthalensis discovered in a karst sinkhole in the Lamalunga Cave. The well preserved skeleton, covered with a thick layer of calcite crystals (known as cave popcorn), is dated to 187,000 to 128,000 BC in the Middle Paleolithic era.

Malta 2009 Definitive Issue – Early Temple Period
Ggantija is a megalithic temple complex from the Neolithic era on the island of Gozo in Malta. It was built between ca. 3600 and 3200 BC with the locally sourced limestone blocks. Remains of animal bone discovered at this site suggest communal rituals and feasting.

Bosnia and Herzegovina 1997 Prehistorical Findings
Badanj Cave near the town of Stolac is known for its Paleolithic rock art. The site houses several wall engravings, including the remaining half of a large polished stone panel representing the bow of a horse or deer struck by several arrows. This engraving is dated to between 16,000 and 12,000 BC and is the oldest work of art discovered in the country.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (Mostar) 2010 Archaeological Treasure
Ravlica Cave in Pec Mlini served as a living space for a large number of prehistoric communities from the early Neolithic until the middle Bronze Age (ca. 5700 to 1500 BC). Among the findings are remains of flint, ceramic pottery, stone and bone tools, as well as fire pits with ash layers and burned wood.

Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria (I)

Tassili n'Ajjer (Berber:"Plateau of the Rivers") is a mountain range in the Algerian section of the Sahara Desert. The range is noted for its prehistoric rock art and other ancient archaeological sites, dating from the Neolithic era. The art depicts herds of cattle, large wild animals including crocodiles, and human activities such as hunting and dancing. About 15,000 engravings have been identified to date and the geological formations are of outstanding scenic interest, with eroded sandstones forming 'forests of rock'. In 1982, the UNESCO declared Tassili n'Ajjer as world heritage.

Different paintings from Tassili n'Ajjer, issued by Algeria on January 29, 1966:




A banknote of 1000 Dinar issued 1992 shows in the front the famous Tassili n'Ajjer rock painting of Antelope and different paintings on the back:

Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria (II)




Different paintings from Tassili n'Ajjer, issued by Algeria on January 28, 1967:


Unofficial FDC:



Unofficial FDC:

Official FDC issued by Algerian Post:

Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria (III)




Different paintings from Tassili n'Ajjer, issued by Algeria on November 19, 1981: