banner-onlineshop

Paleolithic hand axe of Homo Erectus

Price: on request
Sold
Object number
AR2842
Object: Paleolithic hand axe of Homo Erectus

Material: Metamorphic rock.

Period: Around 200,000 BC.
Acheulean, Palaeolithic.
Hard to date exactly, because the shape did not change for many millenia.

Description:    Hand axe from the Paleolithic period. Clearly worked edges. Heavy and massive object, pointed tip, easy to grip at the other end.

Background: The hand axe was the universal tool of the Old Stone Age. Its sharp edges could be used to cut plants or meat. The pointy end could be used as a borer.
At first sight, the tool looks simple. But its production required the combination of different working techniques. The paleolithic craftsman needed plenty of experience to orchestrate the various production steps. A hand axe can be seen as the first high tech product of humanity. It stayed state of the art for a million years.

Dimensions: Approx. 20cm long, approx. 9.5cm wide.

Condition: Perfect condition. Fully intact, including worked edges. Two old stickers inscribed "271 Ténéré/Serir b. Chirfa, Sahara Niger Acheul./200.000" and "271".

Provenance: Acquired by us in 2019 from the German private individual S. Fritsch. Inherited from the German private collection of Josef Eheim, collection no. 271. Acquired into the extensive collection of mostly Stone Age artefacts by Mr. Eheim in 1986 from Ralf Schapfeld from Isselburg, Germany. Ténéré, near the town of Chirfa, in Niger, in a so called Serir or desert of gravel in the Sahara, was passed on as a find spot. We have a copy of the document about the purchase and a description from 1986.
R. Schapfeld is a well-known amateur archeologist. A special exhibition was dedicated to his collection in 2010: "500 Millionen Jahre Niederrhein" in the museum of Bislich, Germany.

References: Cf. C. E. Klenkler, Prähistorische Artefakte, 55 to 57.

Authenticity: We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of every artefact, all items are subject to our lifetime return policy on authenticity.