Aterian Stone Tool - Authentic North African Middle Paleolithic Specimen

An Aterian Stone Tool Worked by Hand in North Africa

This Aterian stone tool is a complete tool as found in North Africa. The Aterians were a Middle Paleolithic culture known for specialized tools. This North African stone tool is a real artifact, not a cast.

Product Details

• SKU: 80-112-0130-201-39
• Type: Complete Aterian stone tool
• Origin: North Africa
• Period: Middle Paleolithic, as far back as 150,000 years
• Display: Glass-topped riker case, 4.5 in x 3.5 in
• Includes: Information card that serves as the certificate of authenticity
• Note: Color, size and shape vary widely. Some wear is normal.

Tools With Handles

Aterian toolmakers made different tools for different tasks. Their signature is the tanged point, a leaf-shaped piece with a stem at the back.

The tang fit into a wooden handle, giving a Middle Paleolithic tool more leverage and reach. It may have armed spears or early arrows.

Named for Bir el Ater

The culture is named for Bir el Ater, a type site in Algeria. It ranged across North Africa from Mauritania to Egypt, and lasted until about 20,000 years ago.

Aterian sites also hold pierced shell beads about 82,000 years old, an early sign of personal ornament. Each Aterian stone tool sits beside others in our Prehistoric Collection and Authentic Historical Artifacts.

Display and Care

Keep the tool in its case. Handle the North African stone tool with clean hands, and avoid dropping it.

About the Aterians

Every Middle Paleolithic tool shows tool making as a defining human behavior. The Aterians show how varied and planned it became in the Middle Paleolithic. A tanged point like this one is a piece of that story.

For More Reading from the Web

• Learn where the Aterian tradition began and how far it spread. Aterian - Wikipedia
• Read the supplier's page on these tools. Aterian Tools - Mini Museum