British/European 'Handaxe Sculpture' Symbolizing Traditon / m)swansmprtrot90

K. P. Oakley (1973: pl. 1A): "Thick flake of Isastraea chert associated with Middle Acheulian hand-axes (bifaces). Upper Middle Gravel, Barnfield Pit, Swanscombe, Kent. Length 12.5 cm. (British Museum of Natural History, London)." The Swanscombe Middle Gravels are now dated to OIS 11, c. 400,000 BP.

Comment: Same object as in preceding image, here rotated 90 degrees. There is apparently a second face with eyes, concave curving snout and mouth. {Note that faunal remains from Swanscombe do indicate presence of Bos primigenius [Wymer, J. (1982). The palaeolithic age. New York: St. Martin’s: table 4.1]. If the latter were intended, perhaps the dark triangular forward pointing area was intended to represent the forward curving horns of primigenius, the lumpy top, the creature's furry crown. See further comments in slide (l).

Illus. © Oakley, K. P. (1973). Fossils collected by the earlier palaeolithic men. In Mélanges de préhistoire, d’archéocivilization et d’ethnologie offerts à André Varagnac, pp. 581-584. Paris: Serpen. Plate 1A.