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

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

Provenance: Originates from old Danish antiquity collection.

Find site: Zealand/Fyn.

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

Measurements approx.: 8,5x4,5x2,5 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 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.

The core axe was made from smaller, often irregular flint nodules that were not suitable for other tools. The shape arose from chopping off excess flint along two side edges, and remains of the original edge are often seen on the sides. The edge was formed early by opposite cross-flakes that met at 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 wood processing, often with a handle as a cross-axe. The type disappears in the agricultural stone age.