Axe & circlette and jade disk.
4th-2nd millennium BCE European Neolithic Industrial Arts

NEOLITHIC Anonymous (9000 BCE - c. 2000 BCE)
NEOLITHIC Anonymous (9000 BCE - c. 2000 BCE) Primary
c. 4000 BCE - c. 2000 BCE
4th-2nd millennium BCE
Jadite
Neolithic
Tools
Heraut. Brittany. France.
St. Germain-en-Laye. Musée des Antiquitiés Nationale.
prehis33.neo01c31
Earlier we identified the Neolithic culture as the New Stone Age, and contrasted Neolithic polished stone with the chipped technique used by Paleolithic artists. The artist who created these elegant jadeite disks and axes spent a great deal of time polishing it to bring out the hidden beauty of the stone, which is extremely difficult to work. Very similar forms were found in Neolithic China, one example of which is seen on the right. In historical times the Chinese considered jade to have magical properties, and it is quite possible that this belief was already operating during the Neolithic period. Disks like this were found in Neolithic Chinese burials, and must have been intended to protect the deceased in the next life.