Neolithic Arm Bangle - Capsian Era

Description

Neolithic bangle

Condition Report

Stone arm bangle, carved from the solid stone/pebble. The competently symmetrical Stone Age bangle, of naturally shot veins of quartz, once white veins, now worn with time has a dry surface appearance, obviously a desert find, having the sand weathering typical of these artefacts. Displays tool scratches, now worn smooth, of the manufacturers origin. A sound artefact, no breaks or repairs.

Archaeological history

This artefact was excavated from the Sahara Desert in Mali, N. Africa. It was fashioned by prehistoric Stone Age man. These Neolithic Armlets are approximately 8,500 to 6,500 years old. from the Capsian era. Carved from a solid piece of quartz-veined black hard stone. Notice the inner curved surface, also weathered by wind/sand erosion. This piece of art can be used as a display piece or even used for fashion. Very rare to find in pairs. See the inner dimensions listed below to see what part of you arm they would fit, whether its your fore arm or upper arm.

Provenance

Mali desert, North Africa, Thence property of a European gentleman.

Historical Provenance

Saharan Neolithic artefacts traded through Africa towards more affluent North Africa.

Many of these tools collected in the twentieth century ended up in collections in Europe. this object is of this lineage and formed part of the collection of a European gentleman.

In the last twenty five years or so a new wave of enthusiasm has seen prices of artefacts steadily rise, this trend will continue as supply diminishes, through trading restrictions and particularly as many borders which once freely allowed nomadic movements are more and more heavily policed, restricting historically naturalistic nomadic trading further, coupled with less open site finds.

Many of these items were collected in open sites. This means found strewn across the open Saharan regions. As nomads traversed the Saharan routes, these objects revealed themselves through erosion and through storms and shifting sands.

Many items have been traded from as far south as Niger, Mali, Senegal and Mauritania, also from the more eastern North African states, Algeria, ,Tunisia and of course Egypt.

Geoffrey Moorhouse traversed the Sahara desert in 1972/3 from the coast of Mauritania to Egypt on foot [3,600 miles], on camel with one guide, an immense feat. On route his book the fearful Void tells of sightings of great Neolithic stone implements scattering the surface of the inner dessert, where the trading routes had been neglected for hundreds of years.