Danish Stone Age. Core axe with specialized egg, in flint. Hunter stone age: 8800-4800 B.C.

Danish Stone Age. Core axe with specialized egg, in flint. Hunter stone age: 8800-4800 B.C.

Provenience: Originates from old Danish antiquity collection.

Find site: Zealand/Funen.

Literature: FLINT from Denmark's antiquity. By Peter Vang Petersen. Page 98-99.

Measurements approx. : 8,5x4,3x2,5 cm.

Condition: see pictures.

The Maglemose culture was a hunter-gatherer culture in the early Mesolithic in South Scandinavia and North Germany, approx. 9000-6400 b.c. The name comes from a settlement on Zealand. The culture is known for tools made of flint, bone, and antler, as well as early signs of settlements near lakes and marshes.

Core axes were produced from smaller, often irregular flint nodules that were not suitable for other tools. The shape arose from cutting off excess flint along two side edges, and remnants of the original edge are often seen on the sides. The edge was formed early by cross flake opposite to the edge, which met in a pointed ridge.

Core axes required less raw material and were easier to sharpen than blade axes, and they dominated through the Maglemose-, Kongemose- and older Ertebølle periods. Wear marks and finds show that they were used for woodworking, often as cross axes. This type disappears in the agricultural stone age.