Azilian End scraper
Hide and plant material working
Azilian
14 500 to 11 500 years
Commentary :
Following the retreat of the glaciers in Europe, Azilian hunter-gatherers exploited increasingly vast, and diverse environments. These groups gradually colonized the northern plains and mountainous zones. Their flint tools attest to the increased working of organic materials, such as hides and plants, essential to the basic activities, of fishing, gathering and hunting. Azilian end scrapers are made on the numerous flakes, resulting from flint tool production. Due to their small size, they were almost certainly hafted, and could not be repeatedly resharpened. It was thus necessary to frequently replace a used tool with another identical end scraper with a fresh edge, which could be rapidly and easily produced. Numerous examples of this basic tool essential for the manufacture of everyday objects, have been recovered from Azilian camps.