M242 - NEANDERTHAL MOUSTERIAN IN ACHEULIAN TRADITION (MAT) FLINT BIFACIAL HANDAXE FROM FRANCE WITH SHARP TIP

Product Description

ITEM # 

M242

ID

Mousterian Tool

FOUND

Dreux, France

AGE

MOUSTERIAN:  80,000 - 40,000 years ago

SIZE

4.2" long

CONDITION

INTACT AND COMPLETE - NO REPAIR OR
RESTORATION

NOTE

UNBROKEN NARROW POINT AND HEAVY
WHITE PATINA - TOP WORKMANSHIP.
ORIGINAL BURIAL SEDIMENTS STILL
ATTACHED ALONG WITH IRON DEPOSITS.

Actual Item - One Only

Comes with a certificate of authenticity / information sheet

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MOUSTERIAN TOOLS

The form and execution of this extraordinary handaxe was fashioned by a Neanderthal in the technology called MOUSTERIAN IN THE ACHEULIAN TRADITION (MAT).  Unlike their much larger predecessors of the Sahara during the Acheulian, Mousterian handaxes are much smaller in comparison.  Not only are Mousterian handaxes considered some of the rarest and most prized tools of the Neanderthals, this exquisite representation is a perfectly executed BIFACIAL example with an ingenious bonus feature - the presence of natural flint nodule surface that was purposely incorporated into the design to serve as a non-slip hand grip.  A prominent proximal end facet rests up against the palm for comfort.  Narrow and delicate pointed tip is still intact and unbroken which is EXTREMELY RARE for specimens like this.  The entire surface features a rich, heavy whitish patina indicating extremel age and long-term exposure of many millennia to a wet environment.  Superb shaping and delicate secondary flaking over faces and edges with the classic zig-zap edge of the earlier Acheulian technology.   NO RESTORATION, REPAIR OR MODERN DAMAGE. 

This rare handaxe was fashioned out of flint by Neanderthals over 40,000 years ago and discovered in a Middle Paleolithic site in France.  Fine quality Mousterian Neanderthal tools are rare and often move from one private collection to the next as most sites are now depleted, destroyed, built over and all are protected by law forbidding modern day digging.  It is probable by simple logistics, that over time, high grade archeological tools will most definitely appreciate as collector demand continues to outpace the finite supply circulating amongst collectors that buy pieces and never resell.  Investment aside, no Paleolithic collection should be without representative tools of one of the most famous primitive humans in history!