Stone age people made hundreds of these...why?

This month, I tried:

Hundreds of perforated batons have been found across western and central Europe. Typically they are made from Antler, but this one from Hohle Fels is made of Mammoth Ivory.

What were they used for? Ritual or something practical? I spoke to Prof. Nicholas Conard of the University of Tubingen to discuss his idea that they were used to produce rope.

Sources:

Artwork by Ettore Mazza

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[jamesdeek]

Funny how when i was in school i hated studying and learning, now that im an old man, all i want to do is absorb information. I love your channel

[HOTLVE]

I am Muskogee Creek and my people as well as other tribes would use devices like these for straightening arrows and atlatl shafts that were the right diameter but were bent by heating up the area of the shaft that was bent and holding it straight until it cooled sometimes you would need two. They can be made from bone, antler, wood, and stone.

[YouBazinga]

Ropes and knots are so underrated on the list of most important inventions.

[haraldisdead]

They're obviously for measuring spaghetti.

[CorwinFound]

I think in the modern day we forget how vital rope would have been in those times. No nails or screws, limited glue, extremely labour intensive material cutting. Rope or cordage is a construction material, used for tents/tarps, and many things I can't even think of. This is the most reasonable hypothesis I've ever heard for the batons.

Also, a single hole baton might be used by one individual. Embedded in the ground it could be used to create tension and feed the cord material evenly during braiding.

Thanks so much for discussing this new info. The batons have been such a mystery. This may not be _the_ answer, but it is the first really reasonable one I've heard.

[lacethefirebender]

Funny thing about rope making is when twisting the 3 initial fibers together, 2 twist one way and the 3rd twists the opposite way. Now look at the perforated baton with 4 holes. The 2 middle holes show spirals that go one way, the last hole shows the spiral going the other way. But the broken hole up towards the top is also twisting the same direction as the hole nearest to the base. In my opinion that suggests that they used this specific baton to make rope, the one hole towards the top broke, so they ended up carving a 4th hole so they could continue to use it

[victorba]

I wondered if my message had ever reached you, I am now over the moon with this video! I knew you'd make this subject justice: wonderful interview with the author, very insightful theories, video footage of the actual rope making demonstration (!) and tons of very interesting and positive comments! I've never been happier about mine getting buried: let's solve this mistery together people, let's reclaim our ancient knowledge! Thanks a lot Stefan!
Cheers
Victor

[ScotHarkins]

My wife, a fiber artist, immediately took the idea of a “diz” for aligning fibers, and with multiple holes also thought of cord or rope making. Also sometimes used for stripping the outer layers off of young branches or fibrous sticks for whatever…straightening or stripping or both.

[nittrz]

I remember about 25 odd years ago, Time Team went to the Cheddar caves to look at a Mesolithic site; and in a bit where Phil Harding was trying to make either leather straps or rope he used a baton with a single hole & a couple of the academics who had come to watch were shocked that these sticks had a practical use.

[CapitalismSuxx]

I have no idea what it is called in English but I have seen old Swedish tools for making rope and they look like this. If you google images for "repslagning verktyg" you can see a few of them. Some of them are round, not rectangular. Pieces with only one hole can be used for making a simple ribbon weaving called "brickbandsvävning".

[steveclark]

the ones with 3 or 4 holes were used in making cordage or rope, the ones with 1 hole were arrow shaft or spear shaft straighteners the green shaft would be heated over fire and the tool would be used as a fulcrum to straighten the shaft

[CrazyCook]

The baton at 6:00 with the two holes looks like a fishing jig. That would explain the fish designs, and adding the horse charm is an evocation of some power they believed horses had. For ice fishing, you chop a hole in the ice. The baited fishing line is tied to the end hole of the jig, and a branch or dowel long enough to span the ice fishing hole goes through the second hole of the jig, so the jig will pivot on it. That is placed over the hole. When the fish pulls the hook, the handle portion of the jig will pivot up to give the fisher some visual indication of a strike. For summer, you can put 2 small pegs through the holes and cast the line out with a hand. While pulling it back in, you wrap the line around the pegs, which keeps everything orderly. I hope this was a helpful idea.

[resned]

When aliens find the toothbrushes with holes drilled in them by ultralight backpackers they are gonna be so confused

[WasatyPanKazimierz]

I wholeheartedly believe that rope/string technology is the unsung hero of the human adventure. A popular book on the use of rope from prehistory to the space age would be a banger.

[ropace]

I believe the batons could’ve acted as a sort of “multi-tool” for the prehistoric peoples. The shape, the different material, the different number of holes, etc, etc. They could be used for everything from straightening wooden shafts, rope making, cracking bone for marrow, flint napping, fishhooks, stripping bark, hammering, securing axe heads, jewelry making, the list goes on.

[harrywilkinson]

Arrow straighteners are just a hole in a piece of flat material. You heat the arrow and use the hole to apply torque to the arrow at a precise position. The serrations would help grip the shaft in the required spot and help apply torque. Different holes for different sized shafts? The Prince burial perforated instruments were a good handle and hole combo - theres a reason current spanners are ergonomically shaped like they are.

[Mysucculentchinesemeal]

Cordage making is one of the most essential tasks to survival. Hanging food, making shelter, etc. there are infinite uses for it. Even if they weren’t using it to transport food it would need to be hung to dry.

[melissabruner]

As someone who does all kinds of knitting, crocheting, making lace, making yarn, the use of these items for something like rope or cordage makes a lot of sense. I can see in my mind how it could be used to feed something through something else.

[charlesmoffitt]

They are shaft straighteners. I've used them for 60 years making atlatals and arrow shafts. You slide the batton on the shaft, add heat to area to straighten., put leverage on the spot with the batton handle. I learned it from an old man at the Qualla boundary Cherokee reservation in North Carolina.

[jameswingert]

Also they can be Shaft Straighteners with one hole. They're used to straighten shafts of wood for arrow or spear. Quick mind blowing fact: At least Clovis culture had the ingenuity to have a hunting weapon system of having a reusable spear. The end of the spear had a hole drilled into it and they carried several detachable spear points that they could stab with and then replace the spear point with another one. That way they only had to carry one spear and several spear points. And in making those they used a shaft straightener. At least that's the story for the Clovis site in Southern Arizona I visited. Very cool video Stefan.