A handaxe of Libyan Desert glass

The handaxe described and illustrated here was found three years ago in the Sand Sea of S. W. Egypt. It is made of Libyan Desert glass, a highly unusual raw material whose origin is something of a mystery. On typological and other grounds, the authors argue that it is of Lower Palaeolithic (Acheulian) age, suggesting that use of the glass for tool manufacture may extend much further back in time than previously suspected. The authors are: Dr Roe, Donald Baden-Powell Quaternary Research Centre, University of Oxford; Dr Olsen, Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona at Tucson; Dr Underwood, Department of Geology, Kansas State University, and Dr Giegengack, Department of Geology, University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia.