Beaked Burin
Engraving tool
Magdalenian
21 000 to 14 000 years
...a flint claw, shaped for a good grip and to be used with absolute precision by the index finger...
G. Malvesin-Fabre, Remarques sur le bec de perroquet. Congrès Préhistorique de France. Poitiers-Angoulême.1956
Commentary :
During the Magdalenian, the majority of organic and mineral materials are used to make a wide range of tools, weapons and symbolic objects. This simple and functional burin is easy to make with a minimum of know-how, using waste products discarded in all dwellings. Beaked burins offer an excellent grip, and enable the precise engraving of hard materials, such as limestone slabs.
This is one of the preferred tools for figurative engraving, which flourished during the Magdalenian.