LARGE NEOLITHIC AXE. ...

Description

LARGE NEOLITHIC AXE
Mid-Holocene, 6000-4000 B.P.
North Niger
This exceptionally large axe head was finely knapped from an attractive piece of gray-green jasper, by the people of the Ténérean culture. In the mid Holocene era, up to 8500 years ago, the Gobero region in the Ténéré desert of northern Nigeria fronted a large lake. It was inhabited first by the Kiffian people, and later by the nomadic Ténéreans. Both cultures left behind a wealth of material, many graves, and superb examples of their tool-making skills, such as the present axe. A museum-quality piece with a fine patina, it measures 7½ inches long, presented upright on an ebonized metal display stand.

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