Small Laurel Leaf Point
Projectile point
Solutrean
25 000 to 23 000 years
Small, bifacial foliate pieces, delicately made with an extremely fine retouch.
E. Cartailhac, La France préhistorique d'après les sépultures et les monuments. Paris. 1889
Commentary :
Small laurel-leaf points do not exceed 5 to 7 centimetres in length.
These flint points are the most perfect and effective projectile points of the Palaeolithic period.
Their production is particularly difficult. It requires high-quality raw materials that are relatively rare, a perfect mastery of knapping techniques, and especially, the adherence to strict morphological criteria.
The manufacture of small laurel-leaf points requires such a significant investment of time and skill that it is possible they carried a symbolic meaning.
Such weapons could be related to the hunter’s skill, his social status or ethnic origin, or may be reserved for hunting a particular animal.