Willow Leaf Point
Butchery knife
Solutrean
25 000 to 23 000 years
The retouch is almost always very regular and fine; the ends are usually rounded, and, in general, the tool curved in profile
P.E.L. Smith, Le Solutréen en France. Bordeaux, Delmas. 1966.
Commentary :
Willow leaf points appeared at the end of the Solutrean.
This period of the Upper Palaeolithic is marked by the appearance of pressure flaking, a technique that was practically unknown before.
The pressure retouch on willow leaf points produces a very sharp serrated edge, rendering it more effective than other tools for cutting muscle tissue and sectioning articulations, or fibrous tendons.
The regularity of the cutting edge around the entire piece, including the two identically shaped extremities, shows that it was not hafted, but rather used in the bare hand.
This original, rare and difficult to manufacture tool, forms part of the Solutrean.