Perforated baton

Perforated baton, bâton de commandement or bâton percé are names given by archaeologists to a particular type of prehistoric artefact made from antler from Prehistoric Europe, whose function remains debated. The name bâtons de commandement ("batons of command") was the name first applied to the class of artefacts, but it makes an assumption of function, as a ceremonial object or insignia held by leaders. The name bâton percé, meaning "pierced rod", or "perforated baton" (the term used by the British Museum) is a more recent term, and is descriptive of form rather than any presumed function. Many are decorated with carved or engraved animals, and recently the most usual explanation of their use is that they were used for straightening spears and arrows, and as spear-throwers. Originally they were thought by many to be a symbolic attribute of authority. Bâtons percés are made from a length of antler with a round hole made in one end, and often have abstract or animal designs etched into them (such as horses). They have been found at Aurignacian and Magdalenian sites of the Upper Paleolithic in Europe, with examples dating from 23–12,000 years ago. They have a joint at one end, often forming a T or Y shape, but always with a swelling of the antler at that end. There is a circular hole drilled through the antler just below the swelling or joint, and often a smaller second hole nearby on the shaft. Typical examples range from 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) in length. One unusual bone baton from le Souci, Lalinde has a row of eight holes of different sizes. The purpose of the bâton percé was originally thought to be as a symbol of power or status, hence the early name bâton de commandement, or rod of command, given by Louis Laurent Gabriel de Mortillet. This interpretation is now thought unlikely; one French archaeologist wrote derisively of the name summoning up the image of "an aged general... directing... an assault on a mammoth".