32 common Sahara Neolithic points and tools

This is a group of 32 common Sahara Neolithic arrowheads and tools from the region of northern Mauritania (south-western Sahara desert).   

The smallest point is 11/16th inch (17 mm).     

The largest tool is 1 3/8th inches (35 mm).

The condition is good, however some will have small ancient dings, especially to the barbs of the stemmed points.  As a group these are a common grade of artifact. They are representative of smaller (average is about 1.25 inch), everyday tools in a variety of types and lithics.  These relics were work tools, the projectile points were used in hunting game while the larger blades were used in preparing game and other cutting type tasks. The tools were used until they could no longer function well because they were to small to re-sharpen at which point they were discard or were lost.

Neolithic populations living near now dried lakes and  rivers in what is now the Sahara desert; used  these tools  in the hunt for and processing of waterfowl and small game.  The end of the Ice Age resulted in global climate changes which stopped the rains and forced these Neolithic (New Stone Age) peoples into new modes of existence, either agriculture which was just beginning at the end of the Neolithic, or a nomadic animal husbandry mode of existence. The New Stone Age was a very dynamic era giving rise to agriculture, pottery, and permanent settlements, all of which were milestones in humankinds march toward 'civilized' life. The Sahara Neolithic lasted from 9,000 to 4,000 BP (years Before Present). 

I will include my 2-page essay on the Sahara Neolithic to explain something of the Neolithic era and context in which these tools were found.