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VERY RARE GRADE 10 AFRICAN ACHEULIAN LARGE UNIFACIAL FLAKE SCRAPER WITH SUPERB COLOR AND "DESERT VARNISH" Exposed Site - Algerian Sahara Desert, North Africa LOWER PALEOLITHIC PERIOD (ACHEULIAN): 1.2 million - 500,000 years ago This rare Saharan Acheulian flake tool was made and used by Homo ergaster (African Homo erectus). It was surface-collected from an exposed Acheulian site in the Northern Sahara Desert of North Africa. This Lower Paleolithic tool represents the first intelligent design type known to science that was made by primitive humans. Prior to these Saharan Acheulian tools, only crude pebble tools existed in the human fossil record. Very seldom seen in private collections, a tool this type is rare from Africa with most Acheulian specimens collected being handaxes. Furthermore, it is a large UNIFACIAL FLAKE SCRAPER. It is a scraper (not a handaxe) from the Sahara and was fashioned out of quartzite. The size and form along with the extensive flaking and workmanship make it a stunning GRADE 10 example that cannot be improved upon. The surface shows beautiful "desert varnish", a natural glossy surface caused by the exposure of the stone to the blowing sands over hundreds of thousands of years. The patina is a testament to the hundreds of thousands of years it lay in the desert. The cutting edges of this specimen exhibit excellent workmanship and are intact. Extensive flaking on the edges is evident as is the original striking platform on the proximal end. NO REPAIR AND NO RESTORATION. FLAKE SCRAPERS from the SAHARAN ACHEULIAN are much more rare then their Saharan Acheulian HANDAXE counterparts. While handaxes are rather obvious in design and easy to therefore, recognize when collecting on a site, smaller flake tools have less obvious features at first glance and easily blend in with surrounding scrap flakes and natural stones. The vast majority of private collections lack Acheulian Saharan flake tools in comparison to handaxes from the same period. Perfect for use in butchering the large game that thrived in Northern Africa during the days of Homo ergaster. In Africa, the Acheulian Tradition is well-defined and most diverse when compared to other regions where it eventually spread to. HANDAXES are the most typical bifacial tool associated with this period. Different from the bifacial tools from the earlier Oldowan Period, Acheulian tools are fashioned from large flakes as opposed to using a whole cobblestone as the core. Along with handaxes, other bifacial tools that are Acheulian are CLEAVERS (large handaxes with a flat chopping edge) and PICKS (robust elongated, trihedral tools). Other stone implements found at Acheulian sites are small tools like NOTCHES, SCRAPERS and SPHEROIDS (round flaked stone balls). Most tools of this period were fashioned from basalt or quartzite. RARE GRADE 10 LARGE SPECIMEN! INCREDIBLE IN ALL WAYS - AFRICAN ACHEULIAN FLAKE TOOLS ARE RARE IN PRIVATE COLLECTIONS 5" in length x 3.6" wide SOLD ACH-099 Actual Item - One Only |
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