NEANDERTHAL MOUSTERIAN DISCOIDAL SCRAPER FLAKE TOOL FROM CAEN FRANCE *M440

Product Description

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This authentic stone tool was fashioned by Neanderthals during the Middle Paleolithic period, over 40,000 years ago.  It is made of flint and was collected from a former Neanderthal occupation cave site in Caen, France.  The site this specimen was found has long been closed to collecting and is protected by the government, making this Paleolithic artifact exceedingly rare and desirable!  Because collecting these artifacts has been off-limits for decades, genuine fine grade Mousterian Neanderthal tools such as this specimen, must come from old, private collections.  The ever-increasing buyer market in pursuit of a very limited quantity of fine grade Old World Paleolithic artifacts continues to push values and prices up, as time goes on.

There is an interesting story about this small collection of Neanderthal flake tools we acquired from Caen, France.  The original collector who found them was very inexperienced in recognizing Paleolithic flake tools.  His lack of being able to discern regular stone from actual human-made tools resulted in him mostly picking up hand axes since they are more obviously flaked than flake tools.  Of the flake tools he picked up, these had to be so amazing for him to know they were actual Paleolithic tools rather than debris flakes.  Because of his ignorance, the flake tool collection was very small and only included the finest Mousterian Neanderthal flake tools, most being the absolute best we have ever seen from this region!

This is a Neanderthal flint flake tool classified as a DISCOIDAL SCRAPER.  The flaking and form on this exceptional tool demonstrates a perfect, textbook example of this Neanderthal flake tool typology.  Made on a flake that has been knapped to a circular form, the edge was then worked by secondary flaking to create a cutting edge around the entire perimeter of the tool.  A very prominent bulb of percussion can be seen on the back side - a trait only found on human-struck flake tools, not on flakes formed by natural environmental forces.  The intact cutting edge shows use wear and evidence of original prehistoric re-sharpening.  Intact mineral deposits and deep patina on the flint surfaces and hinge fractures to testify to its authenticity and lack of any modern alterations.  A superb example from this famous Neanderthal region!