Bâton de commandement

A bâton de commandement, bâton percé or perforated baton is a name given by archaeologists to a particular prehistoric artifact that has been much debated. The name bâtons de commandement was the name first applied to the class of artifacts, but it makes an assumption of function; 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 the most usual explanation of their use is that they were used for straightening spears and arrows, and as spear-throwers.

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". Other interpretations include:

The British Museum "scope note" for "Perforated baton" says in 2011: "They are now understood to [be] implements used in the manufacture and throwing of spears."

Focusing only on what the objects were used for does not, however, account for why they were decorated.

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