Handsome Ancient Indo-European Proto-Celtic Stone Arrowpoint (Brooch/Lapel Pin).
CLASSIFICATION: Proto-Celtic Stone Artifact, Projectile Point. Mounted onto brooch or stick/lapel pin or as a pendant (with chain) upon request (no charge). Mounted onto plaque or shadow box upon request (additional shipping charges apply).
ATTRIBUTION: Celtic Galatia (Turkey), 6th/5th Millennia B.C.
SIZE/MEASUREMENTS:
Length: 37 millimeters.
Width: 15 millimeters.
Weight: 3.76 grams.
NOTES: Can also be mounted onto a plaque or into a shadow box (see below).
CONDITION: Very good. Sound integrity, no cracks, breakage, entirely intact. Professionally conserved.
DETAIL: This is very handsome Indo-European, proto-Celtic stone projectile point circa fifth or sixth millennia B.C. It was recovered in excellent condition, entirely intact, and remains quite sharp – lethally sharp. This artifact is the perfect size for a brooch or lapel ornament, or mounted onto a chain, a pendant. With the addition of a contemporary pin or bail, it can be worn and enjoyed – an authentic “souvenir” of the ancient Celtic world.
We could safely attach a contemporary pin, either brooch or lapel style as shown below, left, or a jewelry bail (so as to mount a chain) without endangering the artifact. Though securely fastened, the pin (or bail) could be removed at a later date without injuring the artifact. It would be an absolutely smashing brooch, lapel ornament, or pendant, sure to arouse interest and envy! Upon request we would be happy to mount a pin or bail (including a chain) without charge – but you must request it. No request and you’ll receive the stone projectile point with no pin or bail attached.
If you request (follow the links below), we could mount the artifact onto a framed display plaque (see it here), and it would make a great gift. The plaque narrates a brief outline of the history of the ancient Celts along with a couple of images of very beautiful artifacts. It would make a very handsome gift, for yourself or a friend, and would surely delight a son or daughter. It would not only make a very handsome display, but would be very educational as well. If you prefer, the artifact could be installed within a glass-front shadow box with or without printed history (see it here).
HISTORY: The term “Neolithic” literally translates from the Greek to “New Stone Age”, and applies to that period of human development between the last period of the Stone Age (the Holocene, which started with the retreat of the Pleistocene glaciers) and the advent of metal technologies (the Chalcolithic Copper Age). It refers not to a specific or uniform period of time, but rather to a stage of cultural and technical development. In the Levant, Anatolia and Europe if begins with the advent of agricultural communities which used both domesticated and wild crops, as well as the domestication of animals. It also refers to permanent or semi-permanent communities, and the use of pottery. Neolithic cultures appeared first in Southwest Asia and the Levant around 10,000 B.C., and spread into Anatolia (present day Turkey), Syria, and Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) by about 8,000 B.C. The earliest known Neolithic community in the Levant is Jericho.
Neolithic culture seems to have spread to Southeast Europe by about 7,000 B.C., and by 6,500 B.C. Neolithic cultures have been identified in Greece, Knossos (Crete), and in Thessaly. Soon thereafter Neolithic groups began to appear in the Balkans and South-Central Europe. By 5,500 B.C. a significant civilization had arisen known in the West as the Cucteni Culture – and in Russia as the Trypillian Culture. The competing names refer to the same culture as discovered in Romania at Cucuteni and in the Ukraine at Trypillia. Actually this proto Indo-European culture flourished in a geographical area which encompassed modern-day Romania, Moldova, Russia, Belarus, and the Ukraine in the Dniestr-Dnjepr River Valley Region (the fourth “Great River Valley” culture alongside the Nile, Tigris-Euphrates, and Ganges). To date over 2,000 sites identified with this culture have been discovered by archaeologists. The culture was urbanized, perhaps the first in Europe, and there was established agriculture and livestock husbandry (cattle, goats, sheep and pigs). The largest collection of artifacts of this Indo-European culture may be found at the Romanian Museum of History & Archaeology (at Piatra Neamt).
From Southeast Europe the Neolithic spread to Central Europe by about 5,500 B.C., and to Northwestern Europe by about 4,500 B.C. The Neolithic cultures of Southeastern Europe (the Balkans, Italy, and the Aegean) show some continuity with groups in southwest Asia and Anatolia (Turkey), and these cultures are often referred to as “Old Europe”, and are considered to be Proto Indo-European cultures. It is believed that the first Indo-Europeans arrived across the plains north of the Black Sea, and eventually became the Pelasgians, Minoans, Leleges, Iberians, Sicans, Elymians, Etruscans, Hurrians, Urartians, Dravidians, Basques, and Uralic peoples. The coming of farming began a great shift in people's lives that eventually, during the Bronze Age, gave rise to large urban centers with populations numbered in the thousands. Instead of wandering from place to place seeking food, people increasingly dwelt in one place.
Excavations in Central Europe have shown that early Neolithic cultures were building burial mounds, stone henges, and large arrangements of circular ditches and causewayed enclosures creating fortified settlements within which were sited their homes. These structures required considerable time and labor to construct, which suggests that some influential individuals were able to organize and direct human labor. These Neolithic peoples were skilled farmers, manufacturing a range of tools necessary for the tending, harvesting and processing of crops (such as sickle blades and grinding stones) and food production (pottery and bone implements). They were also skilled manufactures of a range of other types of stone tool and ornaments, including projectile points such as this specimen, beads, and statuettes.
CELTIC HISTORY: The Celts were known in the ancient world (as they are today) for their stylized and fantastic plant and animal forms, as well as strong, geometrical, intertwining patterns. Celtic artwork decorated the surfaces of household and ritual vessels, weapons, and body ornaments (jewelry). The principal materials used in the surviving pieces of metalwork, most numerous of the remains, are gold and bronze. Though largely absorbed by the Roman Empire, Celtic art work, especially jewelry, was highly prized both in the Hellenic as well as the Roman world. The Celts were a group of peoples that occupied lands stretching from the British Isles to biblical Galatia in Asia Minor. Though the Celts left no written history of their own, though it is believed they originated in Southern Russia and by around 2,000 B.C. had reached the British Isles.
The Celts were a loosely confederated group of tribes speaking Indo-European dialects. Armed with iron weapons and mounted on horses, they spread rapidly over Europe, fought the Macedonians, and penetrated into Asia Minor, where they raided Hellenistic centers. The Celts lived in semi-fortified villages, with a tribal organization that became increasingly hierarchical as wealth was acquired. Priests, nobles, artisans, and peasants were clearly distinguished, and the powers of the chief became kinglike. The Celts believed in a demonic universe and relied on the ministry of the priests known as druids. Much Western European folklore is derived from the Celts.
History’s first written account of the Celts comes from northern Italy around 400 B.C. The nascent Roman Empire records an encounter between their neighbors, the Etruscans, and a previously unknown group of “barbarians”. These peoples had come down from the Alps and displaced the Etruscans from the fertile Po valley. The Romans sent envoys both to the besieged Etruscans as well as to (study and negotiate with) the Celts. The people who made up these various tribes were called “Galli” (Gaullic) by the Romans and “Keltoi” (Celtic) by the Greeks. The Romans eventually betrayed their diplomatic overtures, and the enraged Celts sacked Rome in 390 B.C. and ransomed the city for 1,000 pounds of gold – a humiliating defeat for the early Roman Empire.
Traditional Western (Graeco-Roman) History emphasizes the evolution of Europe from classical Roman and Greek culture. In reality, Europe throughout most of recorded history was dominated by the powerful and culturally diverse Celts. Through the period of classical Greece to first few centuries A.D, most of Europe was under the shadow of the Celts whom still represented a fairly unified culture. From this great culture arose the Germans and many of the cultural forms, ideas, and values of medieval Europe. Not only did medieval Europe look back to the Celtic world as a golden age of Europe, they also lived with social structures and world views that ultimately owe their origin to the Celts as well as to the Romans and Greeks.
The period of Celtic dominance in Europe began to unravel in the first centuries A.D., with the expansion of Rome, the migrations of the Germans, and later the influx of an Asian immigrant population, the Huns. The Celts were crushed between these forces. By the time Rome fell to Gothic invaders, the Celts had been pushed west and north, to England, Wales and Ireland and later to Scotland and the northern coast of France. The earliest Celts who were major players in the classical world were the Gauls, who controlled an area extending from France to Switzerland. It was the Gauls who sacked Rome and later invaded Greece; it was also the Gauls who migrated to Asia Minor to found their own, independent culture there, that of the Galatians. Through invasion and migration, they spread into Spain and later crossed the Alps into Italy and permanently settled the area south of the Alps which the Romans then named, Cisalpine Gaul. Two Celtic tribes, the Cimbri and the Teutones emigrated east and settled in territory in Germany. The center of Celtic expansion, however, was Gaul, which lay north of the Alps in the region now within the borders of France and Belgium and part of Spain.
Aside from their art work, the Celts were also known for their method of warfare, as depicted in the epic opening scenes of the movie “Gladiator”. The Celtic method of warfare was to stand in front of the opposing army and scream and beat their spears and swords against their shields. They would then run headlong into the opposing army and screamed the entire way. This often had the effect of scaring the opposing soldiers who then broke into a run; and fighting a fleeing army has always been relatively easy work. Throughout history Celtic treasures have been inadvertently discovered by farmers in their fields, uncovered by erosion, and the target of unsystematic searches by treasure seekers. With the introduction of metal detectors and other modern technologies to Eastern Europe in the past three or four decades, an amazing number of new finds are seeing the light of day 2,000 years or more after they were originally hidden by their past owners. And with the liberalization of post-Soviet Eastern Europe, new markets have opened eager to share in these treasures of the ancient world.
SHIPPING & RETURNS/REFUNDS: Your purchase will ordinarily be shipped within 48 hours of payment. We package as well as anyone in the business, with lots of protective padding and containers. All of our shipments are fully insured against loss, and our shipping rates include the cost of this coverage (through stamps.com, Shipsaver.com, the USPS, UPS, or Fed-Ex). International tracking is provided free by the USPS for certain countries, other countries are at additional cost. ADDITIONAL PURCHASES do receive a VERY LARGE discount, typically about $5 per item so as to reward you for the economies of combined shipping/insurance costs. We do offer U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail, Registered Mail, and Express Mail for both international and domestic shipments, as well United Parcel Service (UPS) and Federal Express (Fed-Ex). Please ask for a rate quotation. We will accept whatever payment method you are most comfortable with.
If upon receipt of the item you are disappointed for any reason whatever, I offer a no questions asked 30-day return policy. Send it back, I will give you a complete refund of the purchase price; 1) less our original shipping/insurance costs, 2) less non-refundable PayPal/eBay payment processing fees. Please note that PayPal does NOT refund fees. Even if you “accidentally” purchase something and then cancel the purchase before it is shipped, PayPal will not refund their fees. So all refunds for any reason, without exception, do not include PayPal/eBay payment processing fees (typically between 3% and 5%) and shipping/insurance costs (if any). If you’re unhappy with PayPal and eBay’s “no fee refund” policy, and we are EXTREMELY unhappy, please voice your displeasure by contacting PayPal and/or eBay. We have no ability to influence, modify or waive PayPal or eBay policies.
ABOUT US: We travel to Russia each year seeking antique gemstones and jewelry from one of the globe’s most prolific gemstone producing and cutting centers, the area between Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg, Russia. From all corners of Siberia, as well as from India, Ceylon, Burma and Siam, gemstones have for centuries gone to Yekaterinburg where they have been cut and incorporated into the fabulous jewelry for which the Czars and the royal families of Europe were famous for. My wife grew up and received a university education in the Southern Urals of Russia, just a few hours away from the mountains of Siberia, where alexandrite, diamond, emerald, sapphire, chrysoberyl, topaz, demantoid garnet, and many other rare and precious gemstones are produced. Though perhaps difficult to find in the USA, antique gemstones are commonly unmounted from old, broken settings – the gold reused – the gemstones recut and reset.
Before these gorgeous antique gemstones are recut, we try to acquire the best of them in their original, antique, hand-finished state – most of them centuries old. We believe that the work created by these long-gone master artisans is worth protecting and preserving rather than destroying this heritage of antique gemstones by recutting the original work out of existence. That by preserving their work, in a sense, we are preserving their lives and the legacy they left for modern times. Far better to appreciate their craft than to destroy it with modern cutting. Not everyone agrees – fully 95% or more of the antique gemstones which come into these marketplaces are recut, and the heritage of the past lost. But if you agree with us that the past is worth protecting, and that past lives and the produce of those lives still matters today, consider buying an antique, hand cut, natural gemstone rather than one of the mass-produced machine cut (often synthetic or “lab produced”) gemstones which dominate the market today.
Our interest in the fabulous history of Russian gemstones and the fabulous jewelry of the Czar’s led to further education and contacts in India, Ceylon, and Siam, other ancient centers of gemstone production and finishing. We have a number of “helpers” (family members, friends, and colleagues) in Russia and in India who act as eyes and ears for us year-round, and in reciprocity we donate a portion of our revenues to support educational institutions in Russia and India. Occasionally while in Russia, India, Siam, and Ceylon we will also find such good buys on unique contemporary gemstones and jewelry that we will purchase a few pieces to offer to our customers here in America. These are always offered clearly labeled as contemporary, and not antiques – just to avoid confusion. We can set most any antique gemstone you purchase from us in your choice of styles and metals ranging from rings to pendants to earrings and bracelets; in sterling silver, 14kt solid gold, and 14kt gold fill. When you purchase from us, you can count on quick shipping and careful, secure packaging. We would be happy to provide you with a certificate/guarantee of authenticity for any item you purchase from me. There is a $2 fee for mailing under separate cover. Please see our "ADDITIONAL TERMS OF SALE."
