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VERY LARGE AND FINEST MADE NEOLITHIC FLINT CONCAVE SCRAPER FROM GRAND-PRESSIGNY Le Grand-Pressigny - Southern Touraine, France NEOLITHIC PERIOD: 8500 - 4500 years ago This beautiful Neolithic flint stone tool was fashioned out of the most famous flint of the European Neolithic Period - the golden honey toned from the well-known site of Le Grand Pressigny. It was also subsequently collected from this region having been flaked and used by Neolithic humans who once inhabited the region. For an extensive history that dates all the way back to the Acheulian Period in Europe, flint was collected from deposits in Le Grand-Pressigny in Southern Touraine, France. In the Neolithic Period, large mines were dug and worked here with the flint being traded far distances away. The flint is unmistakable in its appearance - a rich golden yellow tone with slight translucence. Most famous from the area during the Neolithic were the massive blade cores prepared called Livres de Beurre (pounds of butter) by archaeologists for the appearance. From these cores, gloriously large flint knives were struck that in some cases, exceeded lengths of 12 inches! The entire prehistoric site of Le Grand Pressigny is scientifically important and was one of the most active epicenters of trade and habitation for an extraordinary length of time in human prehistory. This is one of the finest utilitarian European Neolithic tools we ever have or will offer. It is large and masterfully fashioned from Le Grand-Pressigny flint exhibiting wonderful workmanship and obvious signs of reuse, wear and resharpening on the cutting edges. Shape, color, patina and style cannot be improved upon! Wonderfully aesthetic and LARGE! Concave cutting edge is perfect and very obvious with full reshaping to be such. This rare tool was intended for heavy use hence its robust size and construction design. A specimen for the finest display of Neolithic tools of Europe! NO MODERN DAMAGE, NO REPAIR AND NO RESTORATION. Genuine tools from the Le Grand Pressigny are seldom available for public sale and represent an excellent opportunity to acquire a genuine stone tool artifact from some of the world's first farming peoples! Legally collected decades ago and acquired direct from the original collector. From an old European private collection.
By now, about 25,000 years have passed since the last Neanderthal. Modern man (Homo sapiens sapiens) has been the sole human species in existence since this time. The effects of the end of the Ice Age also brought about changes in the behavior of man. No longer was it easy to track and hunt large herds that once graced the plains. The thick forests that replaced these regions now proved a difficult and less bountiful arena for taking wild game which provided so many resources to their daily lives. Important wild plant food sources also disappeared or were replaced with different and less desirable types. The "Hunter/Gatherer" was now looking to a new role - one of agriculture and animal husbandry. In the entire history of human development, this event was the single, most important change in man's history. It is this milestone that now allowed humans to feed much larger populations thereby enabling communities and later, cities to emerge.
Ceramic pottery first
arrives on the scene, serving as a storage vessel for this newfound
abundance. At this time, man is still relying on stone as the sole
material for tools and weapons. This usage continued until various
time periods in history based on geography and even well into the Copper
and Bronze Ages around 3000 years ago. This was Excavations of farming villages indicate a once peaceful and prosperous life. In later times though, scientists have found these villages evolved into forts surrounded by protective moats. The proliferation of stone weapons is especially noted in these later period layers. Could the competition for more fertile lands and pastures brought about by the now fast growing populations have led to this marked increase in violence? ONE OF THE FINEST EUROPEAN NEOLITHIC UTILITARIAN TOOLS WE HAVE OFFERED! 3.5" in length SOLD N032 INCLUDES DISPLAY BOX Actual Item - One Only |
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As
the final Ice Age came to a close around 12,000 years ago, the earth
underwent dramatic changes that permanently affected flora and fauna on a
global scale. Warmer temperatures caused massive glaciers that once
covered a fourth of the planet to melt, raising ocean levels. Both
wildlife and humans migrated north to now temperate regions once
inhabitable due to the extreme cold. Wide open plains were
transformed into dense forests by the new-found moisture released by the
melting glaciers. 
The
NEOLITHIC AGE
(New Stone Age) is identified with the advent of crop cultivation and
domestication of animals. No longer must humans rely on the constant
search for food and can now permanently reside in the same area,
abundantly providing for themselves on farms. 
especially the case
in regions such as Northeastern
Europe where metal was scarce and some of the finest flint was readily
available and mined extensively. The most fascinating example of
this is in the Danish Neolithic weapons of around 4500 years ago.
These daggers and axe heads were meticulously ground and knapped out of stone and were
masterpieces made to exactly resemble copper originals made by nearby
metal-working societies.