Western Europe, Portugal, Lower Paleolithic (Stone Age), ca. 900,000 to 450,000 years ago. This tool is a rare and complete Oldowan type stone chopper axe from the earliest period of the Stone Age! Oldowan tools are the first stone tools made by the earliest humans, Hominins! This stone axe was made from a quartzite river cobble and features a multi-struck and chisel-shaped chopping edge. Special characteristics in the angles and carefully placed directions of the struck cutting edge differentiate this human-made prehistoric tool from a simple broken stone made from glacial action or frost damage. This Stone Age tool displays remarkably well-executed workmanship and control to have flaked the well-formed edges. The natural red patina on the stone adds a beautiful aesthetic to this paleolithic stone tool. As a testament to its extreme age, the patina on the cutting edge is heavy and well-deposited with no modern crushing. Size: 5" L x 4.4" W (12.7 cm x 11.2 cm)

The Oldowan stone tool tradition is named after the Oldowan Gorge in Kenya, East Africa where the earliest stone tools were first discovered. By the time early humans made their way into Europe, stone tool technology in Africa had already been replaced by the proliferation of Acheulian bifacial hand-axes roughly three-quarters of a million years later. Oldowan tool technology were brought into Europe by Homo erectus, moving north up from Africa.

Provenance: private Diamond Springs, California, USA collection; ex-private French collection, before 2008

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#166804

Complete, as found, with no repair or restoration.