More than 1.5 million years of human history are documented in the prehistory collection. The approximately 20,000 objects are mostly stone and bone artifacts covering a period from 1.5 million years to 5,000 BC. All periods of the relevant time period are well documented. The breadth of the hand axe collection is unique for a university institute. Most of the objects come from Europe (mainly southwest France and Switzerland), the Middle East and North Africa and are constantly being expanded.
The breadth of the collection is of outstanding quality, also from a didactic point of view. It is integrated into the training from the first semester for the entire course of studies up to doctoral level. Another strength of the collection is the connection between the objects.