**Originally Listed At $500**

North Africa, Sahara Desert, Late Stone Age, ca. 50,000 to 10,000 years ago. A pair of hand carved quartz ear plugs, long and thin with flared ends for securing in the earlobe. The glassy stone presents slight pink tones on the surface, and the larger has swirls of light brown mineral deposits. These were crafted by ancient hunter- gatherers who inhabited the Sahara when it was a hospitable savannah climate. Evidence suggests these humans even developed small mines to quarry stones for tools. These ear plugs were fashioned using stone and demonstrate what skill it took to shape these impressive ear plugs! Size of larger: 2.31" L x .25" W (5.9 cm x 0.6 cm); smaller: 1.75" L x .25" W (4.4 cm x 0.6 cm)

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection, ex- German collection

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.

Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.

#159631

Nicks and surface wear as expected with age. Smaller one has large chip to the top. The larger one shows nice mineral striations.