Gravettian End scraper on a Blade
Hide working
Gravettian
Between 34,500 and 25,000 years ago
Commentary :
A hafted end scraper is a composite tool that combines two technical elements: a reusable wooden handle and a disposable flint blade.
The regular shape of the blades allows the same handle to be reused and the worn out scraper to be rapidly replaced by simply detaching the ligature and installing a new one. The form of the blade allows it to be securely attached to a specially adapted haft. This haft serves as a handle and greatly increases the efficiency of the tool.
The use traces, sometimes intense enough to form a polish or lustre on the sharp edge of the scraper, often indicate hide working.
In Palaeolithic hunting economies, skins and leathers were used for dwelling structures, clothing, and a large range of technical items, such as straps, nets and sacks.
Emerging at the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic, this invention is closely tied to the domestic activities of Gravettian hunter-gatherer groups.