Axe

The described artefact was discovered on an archaeological site in the village of Las Stocki, in Puławy county. During archaeological works carried out in 1949, the employees of the Department of Prehistory of Maria Curie Skłodowska University located four burial grounds. During their examination, the archaeologists discovered that they were established by the Neolithic people of the Funnelbeaker Culture who lived in this area about 5 thousand years ago.

On one of the explored sites, in burial ground “B”, in grave XI, the described horned axe was found placed next to the foot bone of the deceased.

It was made of antler - a raw material that had been used since ancient times as an excellent material for making many products. Not only were bone and antlers one of the more readily available materials, but they also possessed excellent properties. The hardness and resilience of items made of bone and antler meant that they were in common use for a long time.

How did they manage to shape such a hard material thousands of years ago?

During the process of making the axe, the maker usually used substances to soften the antlers so that they could be easily worked. For this purpose, the future axe, still in its semi-raw form, was soaked in sour milk, sorrel, water or urine. This made it possible to soften an appropriate fragment or the whole raw material. Then, after the processing (drilling, cutting), the product was rinsed to restore its previous hardness.