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Product Description
The mace is a very early type weapon requiring no skill or special training, and its effectiveness is obvious. Stone mace heads were first used in ancient Mesopotamia in 8300 - 6000 years ago. Earliest examples were ground out of stone and drilled to be mounted on a wooden handle. The first designs were discoidal-shaped with later designs becoming more durable in globular forms, better suited to sustain impact when used, and not break. Maces were used in combat both on foot and in chariots and horseback extensively in the ancient Near East. Mace heads used on horseback and chariot were smaller than those used by foot soldiers. The smaller heads were mounted on handles that were longer than foot soldiers, replacing size and weight with with the ability to be wielded much faster from a mounted position. The longer handle also allowed the mace to strike with more power from the momentum of the moving mount, and the longer shaft handle. In its early use, the stone mace was most effective on unarmored or lightly armored foes. Upon the advent of bronze, bronze armor and helmets became commonly worn during combat and as a result, the stone mace became much less effective as the stone heads shattered upon impact with the metal armor.
This is an EXTREMELY RARE and spectacular, undamaged polished elliptical hardstone mace head from Early Dynastic Mesopotamia. It dates to the Early Bronze Age III period, 2750 - 2500 BC. It shows a large drilled hole for a wood shaft handle, and is complete without any damage. The polish of the greenstone is superb and this was likely a prestige weapon despite it's fully functional design. A similar published specimen can be seen at this link, example #2.
As with any authentic ancient ground stone object, no evidence of any modern grinding or crushing exists. The surface shows the presence of ancient encrustations in all microscopic crevices, as well as inside the drilled hole.
The scarcity of ancient Mesopotamian mace head weapons on the market demonstrates their immense rarity. They are among some of the rarest ancient weapons of that ever become available to the public.
HISTORY
The ancient Near East (including Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent) is considered the cradle of civilization. The Fertile Crescent is believed to be the very first region where settled farming emerged as people started the process of clearance and modification of natural vegetation to grow newly domesticated plants as crops. Early human civilizations such as Sumer in Mesopotamia, flourished as a result. It was here that intensive year-round agriculture was first practiced, leading to the rise of the first dense urban settlements and the development of many familiar institutions of civilization, such as social stratification, centralized government and empires, organized religion and organized warfare. It also saw the creation of the first writing system, the first alphabet (abjad), the first currency in history, the first law codes, early advances that laid the foundations of astronomy and mathematics, and the invention of the wheel. During the period, states became increasingly large, until the region became controlled by militaristic empires that had conquered a number of different cultures.
REFERENCES
https://www.sociostudies.org/upload/sociostudies.org/journal/seh/2018_2/258-272.pdf