Ave!

Acheulean Handaxe, Bi-faced, ca. 130,000 B.C.

Flint; 13CM long x 5CM thick / 0.385KG

Con/ As Knapped; see the photos for the awesome colors

Provenance/ Ex-David MacDonald collection, acquired in the 1970's from the heirs of a 19th Century English gentleman who collected it in France

Seller's Note/ This exceptional and truly beautiful example exhibits a special feature, an ergonomic grip. Nearly all ancient hand tools have one, and the trick is to simple hold it in your hand to find it. On ours, the grip was not actually obvious but we found it. The fellow who knapped this flint handaxe knew exactly what he wanted but this was a rush job (note how some of the original outside of flint core still remains) and most likely was created on the spot of a kill site. Once the butchering was complete, it was just tossed away. Another factoid is that all such tools were designed to be used with the right hand.

The most astonishing thing is that this extraordinary handaxe was most likely fashioned by a Neanderthal man. Not sure about you, but I've never held in my hand, nor imagined, holding an authentic Neanderthal artifact. How about you?

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