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INCREDIBLE POLISHED DORSAL SURFACE FROM A HOMO ERECTUS' INDEX FINGER FROM WHERE THIS TOOL WAS HELD. GRIP SHOWN BELOW TO DEMONSTRATE THE GRIP AND HOW THE WEAR FROM THE HAND WAS CAUSED.
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EUROPEAN OLDOWAN PEBBLE FLAKE TOOL WITH RARE HOMO ERECTUS HAND WEAR Eastern English Coast Near the Thames River, U.K. LOWER PALEOLITHIC PERIOD: 700,000 - 500,000 years ago Of all the rare primitive human stone tools we could offer, pebble tools from the first humans to occupy Europe are perhaps the most rare. Unlike the Oldowan Gorge in Africa where pebble tools abound and in many cases lay clearly exposed, European sites are VERY rare and scattered since the pebble tool technology had already been superseded by the proliferation of Acheulian bifacial handaxes roughly three quarters of a million years earlier! Oddly enough, these two traditions were brought into Europe by Homo erectus moving north up from Africa. Both traditions existed for a limited time together at the beginning of human existence in Europe with pebble tool technology eventually giving way to more advanced traditions of core and flake tools. Truly, no artifact could be more important or impressive to collectors of European descent than one which had been fashioned and dates back to the VERY FIRST humans of Europe! This magnificent pebble tool was fashioned by Homo erectus over half a million years ago. This tool was made from a flint cobble and was found where a primitive settlement of these early humans once lived near the eastern English Coast near the Thames River in the U.K.. The site's age has been determined through stratigraphic studies and examination of remains. NOTE: We will only be offering a limited quantity of these ultra-rare tools. They were acquired from a private museum in Europe and of the small lot that we acquired, the vast majority from this site will be reserved for a future private museum we will be setting up here in the U.S.. Of all the tools we could ever offer, pebble tools from the first humans of Europe are the rarest and most limited we have. Once we have sold the pieces we have from this site, there will be no more. This particular tool is a pebble flake scraper manufactured in the Oldowan tradition. This is a flake from a small flint cobble that was struck several times in specific areas to form the cutting edge and remove a portion of the cobble to be more comfortable when held in use. It features remarkable and highly rare traits that explicitly show evidence of hand wear from a European Homo erectus!!! The last two photos above show how the tool was held. Where the index finger rests, you can see a flaked region seen as dark gray. This is an area that the primitive human maker removed for a more comfortable grip. The polished wear near the distal end of this surface provides incredibly fascinating evidence of very long use of the tool. On very rare occasion, we observe such wear but it is NOT common at is a real treat as we can witness the effects of human use over a half a million years ago! Workmanship is excellent affording a well-thought out design and functional grip when held. Rich ancient patina in the exposed flint. Cortex is still intact on natural surface. NO MODERN DAMAGE, NO REPAIR and NO RESTORATION. As found and with our highest recommendation. The first hominids in Europe migrated north from Africa some time after 700,000 years ago. Some sites in France, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia suggest that this might have occurred even earlier but evidence is not conclusive. Evidence for existence after 700,000 years is definite with many sites being dated from 700,000 to 400,000 years ago. These first humans were Homo erectus. Most of these sites were located alongside rivers or lakes where stone tools are found alongside debris and bones of large mammals. The tools of this time were very primitive having been fashioned by striking river cobbles to produce a crude chopping tool. Sometimes, the flakes were used to make scrapers and points. Human fossils and coprolites have also been discovered at sites in Southern France. The coprolites were found to contain pollen which was used to further provide evidence of an exact date of the sites. The primary source of food was the meat of big game hunted in the region. The early technology of pebble tools coexisted up to 400,000 years ago in Europe with biface axes of the Acheulian tradition. The more advanced bifaces were flaked all over and created a much more portable and defined tool. It is still not fully understood why such a primitive tool technology such as the Oldowan tradition was brought into Europe for the Acheulian bifacial tools proliferated Africa well before the migration of humans northward. No one can doubt the importance that pebble tools hold in the history of human development. Their very emergence in Africa nearly two million years ago allowed the earliest humans to butcher animals for their meat - the needed nourishment that allowed humans to survive and flourish to one day populate and rule the earth. RARE AND FASCINATING WEAR ON TOP WHERE INDEX FINGER HELD THE TOOL!!!! FROM EUROPE'S FIRST HUMANS - EUROPEAN LOWER PALEOLITHIC! 2.35" in length SOLD PB020 INCLUDES DISPLAY BOX Actual Item - One Only |
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