LARGE MUSEUM-CLASS NEANDERTHAL MOUSTERIAN FLINT HAND AXE OF INGENIOUS DESIGN FROM FAMOUS REGION IN FRANCE *M381

Product Description

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For  comparison prices, please see the "Old World Typology and Price Guide" section of the "OVERSTREET IDENTIFICATION AND PRICE GUIDE TO INDIAN ARROWHEADS" editions 7th, 8th and 9th.

The form and execution of this extraordinary BIFACIAL handaxe was fashioned by a Neanderthal in the MOUSTERIAN OF ACHEULIAN TRADITION (MAT).  It is a much larger Mousterian example than typically seen and it features a unique grip design that demonstrates the ingenuity and thought capability of the early Neanderthals of the region.  Fashioned out of flint, a portion of the natural curvy flint cobble was retained and oriented so that it became part of the grip design with a smooth constricted region fitting in the web of the hand and acting as a finger grip on the opposing side.  Considerable flaking throughout shows extensive effort to shape just the exact desired design by its prehistoric human maker.  The entire handaxe is PERFECT and in original, AS MADE condition with no damage.  The tip tapers to an exquisitely flaked triangular point and is unbroken.  The entire perimeter shows expert Neanderthal secondary retouch to execute a stunningly well-made, profile.  Delicate pointed tip is still intact and unbroken which is EXTREMELY RARE for specimens like this.  The entire surface features a rich patina and mineralized soil sheen indicating extreme age in burial.  Authenticity evidenced by the presence of minerals deep in these microscopic crevices.  This is one of the nicest and most attractive Neanderthal hand axes we have offered in quite some time.  

This rare hand axe was fashioned out of flint by Neanderthals over 40,000 years ago and discovered in a Middle Paleolithic site in France.  Fine quality Mousterian Neanderthal tools are rare and often move from one private collection to the next as most sites are now depleted, destroyed, built over and all are protected by law forbidding modern day digging.  It is probable by simple logistics, that over time, high grade archeological tools will most definitely appreciate as collector demand continues to outpace the finite supply circulating among collectors that buy pieces and never resell.  Investment aside, no Paleolithic collection should be without representative tools of one of the most famous primitive humans in history!