This reproduction Acheulean partially flaked Hand Axe was made by professional flint Knapper James Francis at Prehistoric Crafts - resident Knapper at Creswell Crags. Inspired by Hand Axes of the Lower Palaeolithic, cortex is left around the butt to retain the millions of years of patina on the surface of the flint, much like the West Tofts handaxe. These aesthetic choices represent the dawn of artistic thinking in early hominins. Gathered from the white cliffs of Dover, the stone has been worked only with prehistoric methods and tools, including alternate flaking and red deer antler soft percussion. By 500,000 BP, Acheulean hominins were living what is now southern Britain, most notably at Boxgrove in West Sussex, which preserves the best-preserved Late Acheulean handaxe-making localities so far discovered. Acheulean handaxes are found widely across the southern UK, and this reproduction grants a unique view of what these real palaeolithic hand axes would have looked like the day they were made. From this perspective, reproduction stone tools are critical in our understanding of the archaeological and human past. Shipped with COA