"Neolithic Period, Large Granit Or Volcanic Stone Grain Grinding & Its Wheel"
ARCHEOLOGY / PREHISTORYImportant grain millstone / grinding from Neolithic period, circa 12,000 to 7000 years old
Greenish granitic or volcanic stone, carved and "polished"
The word "granite" comes from the Italian "granito", meaning "grainy" (or granular), designating hard, grainy and non-porous rocks with crystal grains.
The piece has an oval and hollow shape, very thick. The polish of the top is the result of its daily use repeated over centuries, by rubbing the wheel on its table to crush cereals.
The wheel accompanying it seems to be his own: of the same nature of stone, it has identical wear, polish and patina.
Very large dimension:
46*26,5cm and 10cm thickness for the grinding wheel
and 18*7,5*5,5cm for the wheel
Very very nice patina.
The origin of Ténéré desert, indicated by heirs of the previous owners (old collection, archaeological piece brought back in the 1960s from Chad) seems coherent, even if this piece could also have come from the Sahara desert here similar pieces have been producted on same neolithic period.
It should be noted that both these places benefited from a very different climate at this Prehistory period, temperate, conducive to cultivation and settlement of human populations.
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