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Product Description
This authentic and premium quality handaxe was fashioned by Neanderthals over 40,000 years ago out of quartzite as flint was scarce at this famous site. The site this specimen was collected from was an open air crafting / Summer camp site for Neanderthals but oddly, tens of thousands of years later, ancient peoples erected a megalithic structure that is still there, today.
Despite being made of quartzite which is VERY difficult to knap well on pieces of this size and refinement, this specimen shows knapping work that is on par with flint objects, a much easier lithic to work with. This rare artifact came from an old European collection and was was legally collected many decades ago when the best pieces were to be found and allowed. With most Middle Paleolithic sites in France being either protected or cleaned of any Neanderthal artifacts like this, it makes this stone tool exceedingly rare and a prime candidate for investment value appreciation over the years to come! France is most famous for its Neanderthal sites, as well as its prehistoric human history. Fine quality and aesthetic Lower and Middle Paleolithic handaxes from France have become insanely desired by European collectors since most of the sites were closed and protected many years ago. Specimens like this will continue to be sought after by collectors as fewer and fewer fine examples can be found available for sale, driving up prices steadily over time.
The form and execution of this extraordinary quartzite stone handaxe is absolutely the finest one could ask for regarding an AMYGDALOID MOUSTERIAN handaxe. Unlike their much larger predecessors of the Acheulian, Mousterian handaxes are much smaller in comparison. Not only are Mousterian handaxes considered some of the rarest and most prized tools of the Neanderthals, this exquisite representation is a perfectly executed bifacial example. This rare specimen displays an intelligent finger grip design as seen in the photos above. It exhibits extensive flaking to follow the specific amygdaloid design. The sum of these features indicate a HIGHLY SKILLED Neanderthal craftsperson that fashioned this superb and truly MUSEUM GRADE specimen. Microscopic examination reveals iron mineral deposits and patina in all hinge fractures - a feature only found in AUTHENTIC Paleolithic tools. This specimen is the finest shaped specimen we could offer and is the quintessential example of the high level of Neanderthal workmanship in a stone flaked tool!
