Neolithic arrowheads found near Berliet marker 12 near the mountains of Yeï Lulu Loga on the border with Chad - Eastern Niger - Chad - 1967

At El Beyed, Mauritania, although no palaeontological documents are available, a very important Acheulean deposit, characterised mainly by bifaces and choppers, outcrops on the present ground. The position of the geological layers in which the industries are found gives a first chronological approach. But, of course, it is not known to which human type they belong. No serious excavations have yet been carried out in this region, which is becoming increasingly rich.

Probably the most common evidence of the Neolithic in the Sahara are arrowheads. - The polished axe must have been the primary weapon or implement of Neolithic man. Thousands of them have been found, and the beauty of its shape and the fine grain of the minerals chosen are a source of admiration. – Site 1 - Enneri Blaka - Niger – 1975

These prehistoric pottery shards and bones come from the Adrar Bous area - West Ténéré - Niger - 1975

No traveller who has crossed the Sahara returns from there without bringing back a set of "arrowheads". It is safe to assume that millions of these fine and beautiful objects have been taken away, and that one of the best chances to learn about the ancient palethnology of hunting and warfare has thus been lost for good. The only hope we have to counteract this looting is the excavations that specialists are continuing at some, unfortunately too rare, sites in the Sahara. There are many different forms of arrowheads - their actual name is "arrowhead fittings" - depending on the purpose the user intended to achieve. (IFAN Collection, Dakar, Senegal) - 1969

Probably the most common evidence of the Neolithic in the Sahara are arrowheads. There are numerous forms, depending on the target the user was aiming at. Broadly speaking, three main varieties can be distinguished: triangular, pedunculated and those with a transversal edge, the latter being prototypes of the medieval bolts. Although certain points could have been used for fishing, it is clear that the vast majority were intended for hunting and probably also for war. And experience showed the users very early on that the weight and shape of the stone attachment with which the tip of the arrow shaft was equipped had to be calculated with reference to the target to be reached. That is why there is such an astonishing variety of forms, but they can easily be classified according to type and family. (IFAN Collection, Dakar, Senegal) – 1969

The bearer of the two-sided industry - essentially the pithecanthropus - is followed by the Neanderthal. If this one still produces two-sided devices, it is only in very small numbers and, compared to similar devices of its predecessors, greatly reduced in size. No Neanderthal skeleton has been found in the Sahara, nor any industry that could be attributed to him with any certainty. Nevertheless, there is a curious stock of implements, spread over the whole desert, which can be compared with the European Moustérien, and in addition there is a greater or lesser number of stemmed objects, noteworthy for the peculiarity of being made from off-cuts, the chipped surface of which is very rarely retouched. Only the stem is reworked on its entire surface. Although these "handle tools" often have a tip and the other implements show quite familiar forms, we still know nothing about the use of this Atérien, which owes its name to a well in the south of the province of Constantine in Algeria, in whose surroundings it has been discovered in abundance (IFAN Collection, Dakar, Senegal) – 1969

The Neolithic people are our direct predecessors, and their appearance is noticeable through a true industrial revolution. It is no exaggeration to say that we are their heirs in the technical field, for they brought us agriculture, animal husbandry, the village, pottery, weaving, stoneworking, etc. In the latter they achieved a mastery that the specialists of the stone tools have never achieved. In the latter they have achieved a mastery that astonishes the specialists in stone tools. The majority of small tools continue to be based on fine blades made of a wide variety of minerals, which a skilful retouching brings into the desired shape. For this purpose, one prepares the selected lump of stone by making a platform against which one subsequently directs the blows that release the blades. Instead of a hammer, one uses a stick of hardwood or a piece of a long and strong bone. Some skilful retouching around the edges and on the surface of the object gives it the desired shape. One can almost say that the whole Sahara is covered with this beautiful tool, for which petrified wood is just as suitable as flint, hematite or jasper. In addition to the blades and lamellae from which knives, needles, scrapers, drills and hundreds of other tools were made, there were also polished stone utensils, and the Sahara as a whole was rich in stone polishing masters. There are not only stone rings, which were bracelets - provided the light range allows the arm to pass through them -, club heads or weight stones of burial sticks, but also pots, hoes, chisels and arrowheads, whose fine polish still amazes us today (IFAN Collection, Dakar, Senegal) – 1969

No traveller who has crossed the Sahara returns from there without bringing back a set of "arrowheads". It is safe to assume that millions of these fine and beautiful objects have been taken away, and that one of the best chances to learn about the ancient palethnology of hunting and warfare has thus been lost for good. The only hope we have to counteract this looting is the excavations that specialists are continuing at some, unfortunately too rare, sites in the Sahara. There are many different forms of arrowheads - their actual name is "arrowhead fittings" - depending on the purpose the user intended to achieve. (IFAN Collection, Dakar, Senegal) - 1969

The Neolithic people are our direct predecessors, and their appearance is noticeable through a true industrial revolution. It is no exaggeration to say that we are their heirs in the technical field, for they brought us agriculture, animal husbandry, the village, pottery, weaving, stoneworking, etc. In the latter they achieved a mastery that the specialists of the stone tools have never achieved. In the latter they have achieved a mastery that astonishes the specialists in stone tools. The majority of small tools continue to be based on fine blades made of a wide variety of minerals, which a skilful retouching brings into the desired shape. For this purpose, one prepares the selected lump of stone by making a platform against which one subsequently directs the blows that release the blades. Instead of a hammer, one uses a stick of hardwood or a piece of a long and strong bone. Some skilful retouching around the edges and on the surface of the object gives it the desired shape. One can almost say that the whole Sahara is covered with this beautiful tool, for which petrified wood is just as suitable as flint, hematite or jasper. In addition to the blades and lamellae from which knives, needles, scrapers, drills and hundreds of other tools were made, there were also polished stone utensils, and the Sahara as a whole was rich in stone polishing masters. There are not only stone rings, which were bracelets - provided the light range allows the arm to pass through them -, club heads or weight stones of burial sticks, but also pots, hoes, chisels and arrowheads, whose fine polish still amazes us today (IFAN Collection, Dakar, Senegal) – 1969

The polished axe must have been the primary weapon or implement of Neolithic man. Thousands of them have been found, and the beauty of its shape and the fine grain of the minerals chosen are a source of admiration. Numerous ethnographic comparisons allow us to assume that it was shafted in wood, the shaft hole having been drilled with the help of fire. A vegetable resin, like glue, may have secured the fastening (IFAN Collection, Dakar, Senegal) - 1969

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