This sculpture of a mammoth is the hooked end of a weighted spear thrower carved from reindeer antler. The hook of the spear thrower fitted into the nock at the base of the spear shaft, and was used to extend the thrower’s arm and propel the spear at a greater speed. This piece’s original hook was formed by the tail curling over the back. This broke due to the strain, and the artist created a secondary hook with a groove along the back to the tail. It subsequently broke across the handle, making it beyond repair.

Discovered at Montastruc in France, utilitarian sculptures such as this are thought to be between 16,000 and 13,500 years old. The material and the purpose imposed constraints on the artist. The hole on the head of the mammoth does not in fact represent the eye [it is too big and incorrectly positioned] but would have held a decorative stone.

British Museum.

The most widely-spread and best-known Palaeolithic culture, which started around 17,000 years ago and ended around 11,000 years ago. Its name derives from the La Madeleine site in Dordogne, France. Some of the high points in cave art in all its forms - sculpture, black drawings, polychrome painting, modelling and engraving - are to be found in this period.

Source: Dr Jean Clottes

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