The oldest knowledge of humankind we have doesn’t come from stories or recorded histories, but the stones our ancient ancestors left behind. In fact, flint tools have been a part of our species history since before we were even Homo sapiens. Archaic ancestors such as Homo habilis and Homo erectus were the first to take up stone-craft over 2,000,000 years ago.

The Paleolithic represents a long time period in human evolution, marked by many species and tool making techniques. This particular specimen is a stone nucleus, or core, which measures 5.76". The tool was recovered in the Bergerac region of France and is associated with the Mousterian Industry. It is estimated to be between 70,000-50,000 years old. A certificate of authenticity is also included for display purposes.