CAP188 - TENERIAN AFRICAN NEOLITHIC RED STONE FLAKE SAW TOOL FROM THE PEOPLE OF THE GREEN SAHARA

Product Description

ID

Tenerian (Tenerean) Neolithic Tool

FOUND

Exposed Site - South Central Sahara Desert

AGE

TENERIAN CULTURE:  7500 - 5300 years ago

SIZE

3.5" long

CONDITION

INTACT AND COMPLETE - NO REPAIR OR
MODERN DAMAGE.  SPECTACTULAR
COLORS WITH WIND EROSION SHEEN
AND MINERALS ATTACHED.

NOTE

A CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF A STONE TOOL
FLAKE SAW DENTICULATE.  AMAZING
BEAUTY IN THE COLOR OF THE STONE.  

PROBABLY A PRESTIGE OBJECT OF
THEIR CULTURE!

Actual Item - One Only

Comes with a certificate of authenticity / information sheet

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT AFRICAN NEOLITHIC TOOLS

On a dinosaur fossil-hunting expedition in 2000 by a team of scientific explorers led by Paul Sereno, a paleodune and ancient lakebed site was discovered that yielded over 200 ancient burials of Kiffian and Tenerian people.  The scientific findings showed that this region was once a humid lake region that was home to these hunter-fisher-gatherer people.  The area became known as the "Green Sahara" for its once fertile and habitable landscape.  Noted paleontologist, Dr. Paul Sereno, famous for other Saharan dinosaur discoveries, shot into the archaeological spotlight with his discovery of the ancient lakebed cemetery at Gobero in Niger in the year 2000.  Interred in the many burials were numerous stone tools, ceramics, shells, beads and bone harpoons typical for the lifestyle of these ancient people of the Green Sahara.  This exceptional AUTHENTIC artifact is similar to the specimens found at Gobero.  It comes from the same period of the Tenerian Neolithic Culture and region now made famous by this discovery. 

This is a classic example of a stone age SAW or DENTICULATE.  Made on a struck blade, this example shows flaking on both edges but the saw edge has a purposely made wavy flaked edge for sawing through materials such as leather, bone or plant fiber.  It is a perfect reference example for this typology of tool with an obvious undulating flaked edge on one side.  Likely a prestige tool, this example was made in a fantastic blood red quartzite.  It shows "Desert Varnish" in the form of a natural sheen from millennia of wind exposure and mineral deposition.  Original sediments still attached in microscopic crevices - a trait only found in authentic, prehistoric specimens.  COMPLETE, UNBROKEN AND WITH NO REPAIR OR MODERN DAMAGE.

The Earth has been warming and cooling for millions of year, well long before humans were on the planet.  One of the most dramatic examples of climatic change in the last 10,000 years is the desiccation of what is now the Sahara desert.  Prior to as recent as 3000 B.C., the South Central Sahara region in Africa was a humid lake savannah.  It was home to a thriving culture of ancient humans known as the Tenerians and before them, the Kiffians.  The occupation of this area by these two peoples occurred continuously from around 7700 B.C. to the drying of the Sahara in 2500 B.C.. 

In the final Pleistocene and early Holocene Periods around 10,000 years ago, the South Central Sahara Desert was once a highly favorable environment for hunters, gatherers and pastoralists.  Freshwater lakes existed between the dunes in what is now the Tenere region, Lake Chad was eight times its current size, the highlands supported Mediterranean forest trees, and a diverse variety of both large and small fauna flourished there.  The slow drying out process of the Sahara, began 7,000 years ago and ended 4500 years ago resulting in the barren conditions that exist to this day.  As we progress through time from the end of the Pleistocene towards the end of the Neolithic Period there, we see humans relying more on meat from raised animals as opposed to hunted animals that once roamed wild in the formerly "Green Sahara".