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Product Description
SEE MORE NEANDERTHAL MOUSTERIAN TOOLS
Flaked with a turtleback profile of one side being extremely flat and the opposing side having a humped appearance, this nice Mousterian biface hand axe was found in a Neanderthal rock shelter in the Plazac, Dordogne region of France. It was fashioned by Neanderthals over 40,000 years ago. Beautiful, naturally glossy patina from ground minerals during millennia of burial, highlights the superb prehistoric craftsmanship. The exceptional workmanship and reduced size of this Mousterian hand axe set a new milestone of human achievement in tool technology. In contrast to the larger, cruder Acheulean hand axes of earlier Homo erectus, this prehistoric prize specimen wonderfully showcases the advanced technological developments and flaking skills of the Neanderthal humans they were replaced by.
The site this specimen was collected from has long since been closed and protected by the government. Because all collecting has been forbidden for quite some time, a piece like this has become increasingly rare due to their finite numbers in private hands. Many world-famous regions of France are considered to be the "Capitol of Prehistory". Fine quality and aesthetic Lower and Middle Paleolithic hand axes from France have become insanely desired by European collectors since the ban on digging and private collecting. Realized auction prices continue to set records throughout horrible economic times indicating such pieces will continue to appreciate and prove excellent investments. France is most famous for its Neanderthal sites, as well as history, and Mousterian hand axes of size and beauty such as this example have become exceedingly rare and desirable!
This specimen exhibits excellent form and workmanship in its expert Neanderthal Levallois flaking over all surfaces. It appears to be unifacial yet, the flat side exhibits very light flaking to create an aesthetic, slightly curved face. A natural void in the flint falls on one edge of the hand axe, hence the "notch-like" appearance in that area. This hand axe could be held with either hand but seems to be ideally suited to fit extremely well in the right hand. Prehistoric sediment deposits deeply impacted in all microscopic crevices and flaking hinge fractures, as well as a lack of any modern flaking or crushing are a testament to this fine specimen's age, authenticity and lack of any modern flaking or enhancement.
Unlike their much larger predecessors of the Sahara during the Acheulean, Mousterian handaxes are much smaller in comparison. Mousterian hand axes were likely considered the most prized tools of the Neanderthals, and are found with far less frequency compared to flake tools.
