Product Description
SEE MORE AFRICAN NEOLITHIC TOOLS AND ARTIFACTS
This is an IMMEASURABLY RARE and COMPLETE, UNBROKEN stone ring mace head. It was fashioned out of limestone and dates to the African Neolithic Capsian culture of Northwest Africa. It is very large and thin with a rare serrated dfesign incised around its edge. Out of 22 years of overseas travel to the Sahara, this is the only one of its kind we have had the peasure of acquiring. See Klenkler's Sahara Prehistoric Artifacts 2 book, page 65 for an image of a similar serrated example (the only one shown in all his publications) but ours is much larger.
Stone ring mace heads have always been a scarce artifact of the Capsian Neolithic and finding an authentic specimen that is unbroken has always been virtually impossible. At this time in Africa's history, Neolithic warfare was known and no weapon would have been more intimidating and deadly as a heavy club fitted with a stone ring mace head like this example. While we have offered a large variety of exceptional Capsian Neolithic tools and artifacts over the past two decades, this is the second time we have offered an unbroken stone ring mace head. This NEOLITHIC OF CAPSIAN TRADITION artifact was found on an exposed African Neolithic site in the Sahara Desert in Northwest Africa. It was made and used by African Neolithic humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) between 8,500 and 6,500 years ago.
Ground of a single piece of limestone, the interior opening has been ground smooth. The outer profile tapers to an edge making it strong yet, with a sharp edge for breaking bones and crushing a skull. The rare feature is the incised radiating lines around the edge.
The entire surface is free from any modern alterations or grinding, and exhibits a rich wind-polished patina with microscopic mineral and sediment deep in all microscopic crevices - traits only found in authentic specimens.
WARNING: Many large stone African Neolithic artifacts have become scarce in today's market. Their size have made them easy to spot by nomads and most of the Northern Sahara has been picked clean of these Neolithic artifacts over the past 20 years. In Morrocco, the trade in fakes is astonishing plentiful, preying on those visiting thinking they are "buying at the source". In the western world auctions, online sellers, artifact shows and especially on Ebay, fakes dominate the market. In our travels to North Africa as far back as 15 years ago, we saw a tremendous quantity of convincing fakes being produced for the collector market. Deal only with highly knowledgeable and reputable sellers who offer a written guarantee of authenticity with no conditions or expiration time, as we do!