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Description: | A complete struck / worked quartzite handaxe probably dating from the early Lower Paleolithic period to the late Middle Paleolithic, circa 400,000 - 50,000 BC. Bi-facial handaxe as struck removals present on both sides.In plan, the handaxe is sub-triangular with straight long sides leading to a point. The handaxe is irregular in profile and section. The handaxe is thin with little surviving core perhaps indicating that this is a flake which has been retouched. The quartzite is a dark brown / grey colour with no visible inclusions or faults. All of the surfaces are lustrous. The handaxe is heavily rolled making it difficult to discern individual removals. The edges of the handaxe are light brown / grey.Less than 5% of the core remains with both faces of the handaxe being heavily worked. On one side of the handaxe (photo A) the left edge is steeply stepped. The surface of the handaxe is smooth towards the point, but a worked removal on the lower left edge (photo A) is discernible. Along the right edge (photo A) are 2 natural breaks near the point, and another natural break at the top. All 3 natural breaks are identified as being more recent owing to the comparatively rough surface of the break in contrast to the other surfaces.The other side of the handaxe (photo B) has 2 stepped removals near the top and middle of the left edge. The surface of the rest of the face is smooth. The right edge (photo B) is particularly rolled but 3 worked removals are discernible.Comparable handaxes are recorded in a publication by Graf, A., 2004. 'A cause for wonder: preliminary observations on further Palaeolithic surface finds by Ron Waite from around Nuneaton, Warwickshire'. Lithics - Journal of the Lithics Society. 78-100. As an unstratified, surface find, the handaxe cannot be dated with certainty to the Paleolithic period. However, the absence of this type of tool in Mesolithic and Neolithic sites as well as the rolled (abraded) surfaces of the stone strongly indicate that the handaxe dates to the Paleolithic period. Lower to Middle Palaeolithic archaeology survives in the West Midlands owing to the area not being covered by the Anglian Ice Sheet, circa 400,000 BC, or by the Devensien Ice Sheet, circa 50,000 BC. The handaxe is believed to be made by Homo neanderthalensis in the period between the Anglian and Devensien cold spells. A. Graf, pers comm, 26/11/2013.Length: 116.58mm. Width: 85.44mm. Thickness: 40.49mm. Weight: 357g
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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