Danish Stone Age. Core axe i flint. Hunter stone age: 8800-4800 B.C.

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

Provenience: Originates from old Danish ancient collection.

Find site: Zealand/Fyn.

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

Measurements approx. : 10,5x3,5x2,8 cm.

Condition: see pictures.

The Maglemose culture was a hunter-gatherer culture in the early Mesolithic in South Scandinavia and Northern Germany, approx. 9000-6400 b.c. The name originates 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 moors.

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

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