Straight Bone Hook
Line fishing
Magdalenian
21 000 to 14000 years
Pointed, straight or hooked instrument (in bone, ivory or antler) that serves to capture fish via a line.
M. Julien, A. Leroi-Gourhan, Dictionnaire de la Préhistoire. P.U.F, Paris. 1988
Commentary :
The straight hook is a short rod of bone or antler that is pointed at each end. It is attached to a line at its middle.
As a complement to harpooning migratory fish, this simple and ingenious instrument allows fish to be hooked that are difficult to capture by other methods.
The straight hook appeared at the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic and becomes frequent during the Magdalenian.
The straight hook attests to the development of fishing by hunter-gatherer communities living near aquatic resources.