US DOLLAR
EURO
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR
CANADIAN DOLLAR
POUND STERLING
Product Description
This RARE African Acheulian prehistoric stone tool is an ENORMOUS UNIFACIAL BLADE KNIFE. It was made and used by Homo ergaster (African Homo erectus) and is a large example of the first use of a knife by primitive humans over a half a million years ago! It was surface-collected from an exposed Acheulian site in the Northern Sahara Desert of North Africa. This Lower Paleolithic tool represents the first intelligent design type known to science that was made by primitive humans. Prior to these Saharan Acheulian tools, only crude pebble tools existed in the human fossil record.
Very seldom seen in private collections, a tool this type is rare from Africa with most Acheulian specimens collected being handaxes. Furthermore, it is a large KNIFE. It is a type of flake tool, fashioned by a large flake struck from an even larger tool core. Acheulian FLAKE TOOLS are much more rare in Africa then Acheulian HAND AXES. Edge photo shows extreme wind erosion but secondary flaking all down the cutting edge is plainly visible. The cutting edges of this specimen exhibit excellent workmanship and are intact. Extensive flaking on the edges is evident as is the original striking platform on the proximal end. Acheulian knives from the Sahara are VERY RARE and often overlooked in field collecting and rarely seen in collections.
This Lower Paleolithic stone tool was used when there were large elephant and hippopotamus species as well as giraffe species in Africa that primitive humans would have hunted. A tool like this was necessary to butcher such large kills.
HISTORY
FLAKE TOOLS from the SAHARAN ACHEULIAN are much more rare then their Saharan Acheulian HAND AXE counterparts. While handaxes are rather obvious in design and easy to therefore, recognize when collecting on a site, smaller flake tools have less obvious features at first glance and easily blend in with surrounding scrap flakes and natural stones. The vast majority of private collections lack Acheulian Saharan flake tools in comparison to handaxes from the same period. Perfect for use in butchering the large game that thrived in Northern Africa during the days of Homo ergaster.
