Upper Paleolithic Flint Arrowhead – Flavia, Morocco – Gift Boxed

A flint arrowhead from the Upper Paleolithic period, sourced from Flavia, Morocco (North Africa). This artifact comes from an old private collection, originally assembled during the early to mid-1900s.

According to family history, this piece was passed down to the late Richard Feast of Torpoint, Cornwall. It is understood that the arrowhead was originally collected by his grandfather, who worked for Texaco Oil Company during the 20th century in the Middle East and North Africa, including the Flavia region of Morocco.

• Material: Flint

• Origin: Flavia region, Morocco (North Africa)

• Period: Upper Paleolithic (approx. 50,000 – 10,000 BCE)

• Condition: As found – surface wear consistent with age

• Provenance: From the estate of Richard Feast (Torpoint, Cornwall), family collection originating from his grandfather’s work abroad

• Presentation: Supplied in a simple black card gift box for protection or presentation

A genuine prehistoric artifact with documented family provenance. Suitable for collectors, educational purposes, or archaeological interest. 100-1193

What is a Fossil?

Fossils give fascinating prehistorical evidence of past life on our planet.

Usually, fossilization starts once the animal or plant has died. Most animals and plants are eaten or simply recycled back into the earth. The best fossils occur when this process happens rapidly, shortly after death has occurred. Conditions have to be exactly right for a fossil to be produced. Most commonly, this is below water. Decay and deterioration are slowed down because the specimen is covered or entombed in either sediment, muds, sands or volcanic ash or other material, layer upon layer, and over a period that is hard to imagine, usually thousands to millions of years.

Preservation takes place very gradually, as it compacts, it slowly turns to rock. Over time, the plant or animal is replaced by minerals and with chemical changes, leaving an extraordinary replica of the original. In some cases, the pressure and temperature increase, caused by sedimentation, can result in the release of hydrogen and oxygen, leaving a carbon impression of the specimen in sedimentary rock. This process is called carbonization.

Fossils can become preserved in various different ways. For example, wood can become petrified by a process of minerals seeping into the saturated wood, resulting in a gradual process of the wood becoming hard, and resembling stone, often with extraordinary colours. In perimineralization or petrification, after the soft structures have decayed, the hard parts, in particular bones, remain. In some cases, the other minerals completely replace the original specimen. Generally, most fossils represent the hard parts such as bones, shells, leaves, seeds or woody parts of plants.

Fossils can be internal or external moulds of the original specimen. They can also be the some of the original matter, impregnated with chemicals such as silica or calcite.

Fossils can also be indirect, such as in animal foot prints or burrows. These are known as trace fossils.