Lot 112
AFRICAN NEOLITHIC PESTLE STONE
CENTRAL SAHARA, 5TH - 3RD MILLENNIUM B.C.
Auction: 26 November 2025 at 14:00 GMT
Description
carved pale stone, narrow form, with a rounded end and tapering towards the top; the surface displaying a weathered mottling, soft patination
Dimensions
76cm long
Provenance
Private collection, Belgium, formed 1970s - present
Footnote
12,000 years ago, global climate shifts redirected Africa's seasonal monsoons northward, bringing rainfall to a vast expanse of the modern Sahara. This transformation led to the formation of lush watersheds spanning from Egypt to Mauritania, attracting diverse animal life and eventually human settlement. The present piece dates to around 6,000 - 5,000 years before the present day, when a people known as the Tenerian herded, hunted and cultivated crops beside great lakes amidst a savannah environment. The rains departed again around 2,500 B.C., and the Green Sahara became a desert once more, with only artefacts such as this grinding stone left to bear witness to the society which had once flourished.