Reindeer Antler Pressure Flaker
Flint knapping tool
Solutrean
25 000 to 23 000 years
From an experimental perspective, pressure retouch can be carried out in the hands with a “pressure flaker” (or compressor), antler or a cervid antler rod…
J. Pelegrin, A. Leroi-Gourhan, Dictionnaire de la préhistoire. P.U.F, Paris, 1994
Commentary :
Pressure flakers are made from the most compact and strongest part of reindeer antlers.
Hafting makes it easier to handle. Its narrow, finely abraded extremity allows for the controlled removal of thin, very even flakes, from flint pieces.
This technique makes it possible to shape objects with unprecedented precision, and efficiency.
During the Solutrean, the invention of the pressure flaker and pressure retouch, radically change the design of flint tools, and hunting weapons.