US DOLLAR
EURO
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR
CANADIAN DOLLAR
POUND STERLING
Product Description
SEE MORE ACHEULEAN LOWER PALEOLITHIC STONE TOOLS
This African Acheulean prehistoric stone tool is a core struck UNIFACIAL KNIFE. It was made and used by Homo ergaster (African Homo erectus) and is a SUPERB example of the first use of a blade knife by primitive humans! It was surface-collected from an exposed Acheulean 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 Acheulean tool technology, 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 Acheulean tool specimens collected being handaxes. The unifacial blade is a type of flake tool fashioned from a large flake that was struck from an even larger prepared tool core. Acheulian FLAKE TOOLS are much more rare in Africa then Acheulean HAND AXES. Edge photo shows secondary flaking all down the cutting edge to sharpen in prehistory, subsequently worn by hundreds of thousands of years exposure to the desert sand and wind. The entire surface features a natural luster attributed to a patina deposit called 'desert varnish'. 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. Acheulean Lower Paleolithic knives from the Sahara are RARE and often overlooked in field collecting and rarely seen in collections.
FLAKE TOOLS from the SAHARAN ACHEULIAN are much more rare then their Saharan Acheulian HANDAXE 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.
