RARE MIDDLE STONE AGE HAND AXE WITH FACE FEATURE? FROM PREHISTORIC AFRICA - BEST OF A 22 YEAR COLLECTION *M504

Product Description

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This incredibly rare African Middle Stone Age artifact is a ELONGATED AMYGDALOID BIFACE HAND AXE.  It was found on an exposed Middle Paleolithic site in the Northwest Sahara Desert, in association with several flake tools of the same period and make.  It dates to the Middle Stone Age (MSA), between 280,000 and 50,000 years ago.  Coming from our personal "BEST OF THE BEST" private collection that we had built over 22 years of extensive international travel, this was the finest and most unique flint African Middle Stone Age biface hand axe in our entire collection.  Over the years, we had been setting aside the absolute finest examples of African Middle Stone Age tools that we acquired.  Today, you just do not find specimens like this and we enjoyed the collection but now, it is now time to let someone else be their proud steward.  This collection fills just one large Riker box display flat so once they are gone, these will be gone forever. 

Made of flint with one side having two recesses  - one recess being a natural hole in the flint, the other purposely flaked next to it . A raised center portion was left in between these two areas.  Whether it be by coincidence or design, this side of the hand axe appears to resemble a face with the flaked part looking like a closed eye and the natural hole resembling an open eye.  The raised ridge in between looks like a nose.  In various parts of the world, there have been several studies and papers on prehistoric anthropomorphic "art" where faces were purposely flaked in stone, some utilizing natural features and the face finished, or some stones having a completely flaked face.  Could this be an example of that?  It is impossible to say but unique features in stones and Stone Age tools were noted to be prized and recognized as being special.  When held in the hand, a finger falls where this "eye" is, making it a natural ergonomic feature to better grip the hand axe. 

The entire hand axe shows expert flaking, and a long, masterfully-made almond shape that tapers to a perfectly preserved and unbroken tip.  The entire surface has a warm burnt orange hue patina, and glossy surface due to 'desert varnish' which is a smooth, glossy surface layer consisting of iron oxide and manganese deposited over thousands of years by exposure to blowing desert sand.

HISTORY

The Middle Stone Age (or MSA) was a period of African prehistory between the Early Stone Age and the Late Stone Age.  It is generally considered to have begun around 280,000 years ago and ended around 50–25,000 years ago.  The beginnings of particular MSA stone tools have their origins as far back as 550–500,000 years ago and as such some researchers consider this to be the beginnings of the MSA.  The MSA is often mistakenly understood to be synonymous with the Middle Paleolithic of Europe, especially due to their roughly contemporaneous time span, however, the Middle Paleolithic of Europe represents an entirely different hominin population, Homo neanderthalensis, than the MSA of Africa, which did not have Neanderthal populations.  Additionally, current archaeological research in Africa has yielded much evidence to suggest that modern human behavior and cognition was beginning to develop much earlier in Africa during the MSA than it was in Europe during the Middle Paleolithic.  The MSA is associated with both anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) as well as archaic Homo sapiens.

The stone tool technology in use during the Middle Stone Age (MSA) shows a mosaic of techniques.  Beginning approximately 300 kya, the large cutting tools of the Achuelian are gradually displaced by Levallois prepared core technologies, also widely used by Neanderthals during the European Middle Paleolithic.  As the MSA progresses, highly varied technocomplexes become common throughout Africa and include pointed artifacts, blades, retouched flakes, end and side scrapers, grinding stones, and even bone tools.  However, the use of blades (associated mainly with the Upper Paleolithic in Europe) is seen at many sites as well.  In Africa, blades may have been used during the transition from the Early Stone Age to the Middle Stone Age onwards.  Finally, during the later part of the Middle Stone Age, microlithic technologies aimed at producing replaceable components of composite hafted tools are seen from at least 70 ka at sites such as Pinnacle Point and Diepkloof Rock Shelter in South Africa.