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Product Description
This authentic prehistoric bifacial hand axe comes from Africa and was made and used by early humans of the species Homo erectus (ergaster). It was surface-collected from an exposed Lower Paleolithic Acheulean site in the Sahara Desert of North Africa. This Lower Paleolithic tool represents the first scientifically documented intelligent design made by primitive humans. Prior to these Saharan Acheulian handaxes, only crude pebble and flake tools existed in the human fossil record.
This is an exceptionally fine grade BIFACIAL hand axe made out of quartzite. It features sharp edges all around with a perfectly preserved chopping tip. It was masterfully flaked in a turtle-back shape with one side rather flat and the other curved outward, that serves as a way to aid the grip. One side is stained reddish brown from the red Sahara sands as it lay on one side undisturbed for millennia. It has Late Acheulean flaking of a refined nature with a obvious strikes at the chopping end to flake off stone that created the very sharp cutting tip. The sharp tip is original and as it was originally made, hundreds of thousands of years ago. The surface shows a "desert varnish", a natural glossy surface caused by the exposure of the stone to the blowing sands over hundreds of thousands of years. Original sediment and some mineral encrustations are still present in microscopic crevices and cracks - a trait ONLY found in authentic Paleolithic artifacts like these. Tip and edges are AS MADE with remarkable detail that shows the flaking of the original prehistoric human design process.
During this time in prehistory when this Lower Paleolithic tool was made, the Sahara Desert (where this stone tool was found) was a savanna rich in wildlife. Prior to the prehistoric global warming that turned the vast region to desert, early humans lived alongside prehistoric giraffe, bison and elephant, which were vital to their survival. Hunting and butchering these animals would have required specialized tools such as this Acheulean specimen.
