Laurel Leaf points and knifes have their origins in the Paleolithic tool making culture of Western Europe called the Solutrean. It is named after a kill site in central France called Solutre. The Solutrean culture existed for a comparatively short period between 20,000 - 17,000 years ago, and is divided into three temporal periods. The three periods are Early Solutrean, Middle Solutrean and Late Solutrean. The Laurel Leaf style is considered to have it's origins in the beginning of the Middle period. However, some blades and points have been found dating as far back as 20,000 years ago, placing them in the Early period. Besides a few early artifacts, the majority of blades and points were manufactured during the Middle period.

Laurel Leaf points and blades are highly regarded because of the great detail and fine workmanship that was necessary. In fact, a good portion of them were actually produced as jewelry or luxury items. Laurel Leaf patterns were also a sign of an advance in tool making. It marked the transition from unifacial points (points that were only flaked only one side) to bifacial or two-sided flaking. It also marked the first use of the edge-to-edge percussion flaking technique that is called “outré passé.” This type of percussion flaking required tremendous skill and attention to detail in order to create such delicate implements.

The Laurel Leaf and the Willow Leaf points and blades distinguish the Solutrean culture as a great tool making culture, developing techniques that would be used for thousands of years to come. The Clovis tool industry of the Americas about five thousand years later utilized some of the techniques founded in the Solutrean. This relationship between the two has lead to new theories on the relationship of Old World and New World manufacturing techniques. Laurel Leaf points and blades are beautifully designed and crafted items that represent a sometimes over looked culture that contributed greatly to the advancement of tool making.

REFERENCES

Solutrean, Britannica Online, 2000

http://www.cabrillo.cc.ca.us/~crsmith/solutrean.html

Current Research, University of Kansas,

http://falcon.cc.ukans.edu/~willb/research.html

Tony Baker, The Clovis First/Pre-Clovis Problem, 1997

http://www.ele.net/art_folsum/preclvis.htm

Image From—The Stone Age Reference Collection

http://www.hf.uio.no/iakk/roger/lithic/MOUST/UPStools.html

Written By: Jeff Hertaus