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RARE SET OF THREE AFRICAN NEOLITHIC
DRILLED PENDANTS OF SEMI-PRECIOUS CARNELIAN STONE
Exposed Saharan Site - Mali, Northwest Africa
NORTHWEST
AFRICAN NEOLITHIC PERIOD (CAPSIAN TRADITION): 8,500 - 6,500 years ago
This
CAPSIAN TRADITION artifact was found on an exposed African Neolithic
site in the Sahara Desert in Mali, Northwest Africa. It was fashioned by
ancient man (Homo sapiens sapiens) between 8,500
and 6,500 years ago.
This is a set of THREE complete Capsian
Tradition Neolithic drilled pendants in semi-precious Carnelian stone.
They are in original condition and feature a drilled hole which allowed
them to be strung and worn around the neck. The gemstone lithic is an
incredible varied mix of red-colored Carnelian that displays part
sediment encrustation and wind-worn patina from thousands of years of exposure.
Specimens like these
represent the classic artifact
of Neolithic body adornment and ornamentation. Beads and pendants were part of the main personal decoration of an Neolithic man or
woman over 6500 years ago in Africa. This AUTHENTIC specimen is without breakage and displays beautiful polish and shape.
These specimens are a grade that far exceeds typical
finds.
Intact with NO REPAIR AND NO RESTORATION.
Completely durable and safe to wear for another 8500 years!
Microscopic examination reveals desert sediment
and patina INSIDE the surface crevices and fissures - an indication of
an AUTHENTIC Neolithic jewelry. Beware of prolific modern
copies in the market.
Archaeological sites of the African Neolithic yield some jewelry items
and give us a glimpse of what body ornamentation and personal adornment
looked like back in this period long ago. Beads, lip plugs and
bracelets are sometimes found. Tools and weapons were an item of
necessity but body jewelry reveals to us another side of the mind of
primitive and ancient Man that the other artifacts do not give us.
Perfect to
display alongside similar period tools and weapons! This specimen
is solid and safe to wear.
In
the final Pleistocene and early Holocene Periods around 10,000 years
ago, the Sahara was believed to be a highly favorable environment for
hunters, gatherers and pastoralists. Freshwater lakes existed
between the dunes in what is now the Tenere region, Lake Chad was eight
times its current size, the highlands supported Mediterranean forest
trees, and a large fauna of animals flourished. The slow drying
out process of the Sahara, began 7,000 years ago and ended 4500 years
ago resulting in the barren conditions that exist to this day. As
we progress from the time from the end of the Pleistocene to the end of
the Paleolithic Period, we see man relying more on meat from raised
animals as opposed to hunted animals.
At
the end of the Pleistocene Period in North Africa, a blade industry
developed called the CAPSIAN TRADITION. The Capsian
industry runs simultaneously with the Oranian industry and began around
11,000 years ago (9,000 years ago in the Northwest region). This later tradition is
responsible for the influence of the Oranian industry and eventually
succeeds it at the close of Paleolithic Period, ushering in the
Neolithic Age of stone tool manufacture in this region of Africa.
Most
notable during the era of the Capsian tradition is the proliferation of
various blades and bladelets eventually leading to MICROLITHIC technology.
Microliths are tiny flake blade tools and segments of blades that are
used as they are or set in composite tools of wood or bone for use as
barbs or to make saws. The
various tools of the NEOLITHIC OF THE CAPSIAN TRADITION
represent some of the most delicately flaked and beautifully executed
smaller stone tools of man. By this time, the flaking
methods utilize small punches for extreme control in the removal of
material and shape of the blade being made. Some points were so
perfectly executed that they were not used at all but served as
items of prestige by their owner and are sometimes found in association
with burials. These finest points and blades from this period
rival any stone implement ever made by primitive man and were sometimes
manufactured out of the most stunning gem-grade material such as fine
translucent chalcedony and agate as well as transparent crystalline
quartz. By this late age of lithic tool manufacture, stone
implements have undergone man's development by both trial-and-error and
cognitive thinking spanning an overall time exceeding one million years.
STUNNING GEM
SPECIMENS - SET OF THREE
IN A BEAUTIFUL, RICH COLORED GEM CARNELIAN - WEARABLE!
.8" -
.5" long
SOLD
CAP119
INCLUDES DISPLAY BOX
Actual Item -
One Only
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