A wonderful example of a Neolithic hand axe measuring 261mm exhibiting fine-honed textured grip and polished cutting edge surfaces, the skill and art of the Neolithic craftsman who initially selected the stone and created the multi-purpose use tool, suitable for digging plant matter, use cutting or shaping wood and even a weapon of war. Pre-history shows us, backed up by a plethora of works looking at excavations and research of the habitat of Neolithic man. The hand adze or once shafted adze was discovered in North Africa, it is of a familiar and typical style, one which transcends aeons of time across several continents, out of Africa to Europe and what is today British territory. 

The Neolithic Stone Age is defined as the age where Neanderthals created and brought agriculture into our way of life, the nomadic hunter-gatherer era was no more. This occurred around 4000 BC the ideas and advancement of farming, possibly the first sightings of livestock crossed the Channel and arrived in England. The Neolithic age was the progression of behavioural and cultural characteristics, including the use of wild and domestic crops and animals.

In the United Kingdom, men are descended from the first farmers to migrate across Europe from the Near East 10,000 years ago, according to scientific research. Ancient farmers left their genetic mark on modern males by breeding more successfully than indigenous hunter-gatherers as they migrated into the West. Living in Fertile Crescent, East of the Mediterranean Sea, where the land was fertile crops were more successfully grown for traders.

Type: Neolithic hand axe.
Age: Neolithic, Capsian Tradition, approximately 8,500 to 6,500 BC.
Origin: Northern Sahara Desert, Morocco, North Africa.

Overall measurements including stand.
Height: 26.1 cm
Depth: 6.2 cm
width: 7.5 cm

Hand axe measurements.
Length: 17.0 cm
Depth: 4.5 cm
width: 5.4 cm

Weight: 1.145 Kg