60.000Y.O: WONDERFUL NEANDERTHAL HAND AXE STONE AGE PALEOLITHIC MOUSTERIAN FLINT
EUROPEAN STONE AGE ARTIFACTS BY PALATINA AUTHENTICITY GUARANTEED Description of the Homo Neanderthalensis- the Neanderthal( Neandertal) man It is most likely a hand ax or a large and massive trimmed scraper or/and borer! The length of this stunning blue-grey patinated flint tool is 121 mms! The Mousterian industry appeared around 200.000 years ago and persisted until about 40,000 years ago, in much the same areas of Europe, the Near East and Africa where Acheulean tools appear. In Europe these tools are most closely associated with Homo neanderthalensis, but elsewhere were made by both Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens. Mousterian tools required a preliminary shaping of the stone core from which the actual blade is struck off. The toolmakers either shaped a rock into a rounded surface before striking off the raised area as a wedge shaped ... moreflake(see photo at left) or they shaped the core as a long prism of stone before striking off triangular flakes from its length, like slices from a baguette. Because Mousterian tools were conceived as refinements on a few distinct core shapes, the whole process of making tools had standardized into explicit stages(basic core stone, rough blank, refined final tool) Variations in tool shapes could be produced by changes in the procedures at any stage. A consistent manufacturing goal was to increase as much as possible the cutting area on each blade. Though this made the toolmaking process more labor intensive, it also meant the edges of the tools could be reshaped or sharpened as they dulled, so that each tool lasted longer. The whole toolmaking industry had adapted to get the maximum utility from the labor invested at each step. Tool forms in the Mousterian industry display a wide range of specialized shapes. Cutting tools include notched flakes, denticulate(serrated) flakes, and flake blades similar to Upper Paleolithic tools. Points appear that seem designed for use in spears or lances, some including a tang or stub at the base that allowed the point to be tied into
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