Decorated half round rod fragment
Laugerie Basse, Dordogne, France
Antler
Length: 16 cms
The British Museum
Palart.207
This mid-section of a half round rod is decorated by both raised and incised motifs. The edges are at regular intervals and the apex of the convex surface carries a varying pattern of short, diagonally engraved lines between two rows of small, oblong shapes produced in relief. These raised shapes are more regularly shaped and spaced than the incised diagonals that appear casual by comparison. They start at one end as small incisions forming a neat wave pattern that breaks into a band of irregularly spaced single, diagonal incisions in a single line for most of its length except in the middle where there are two.
The raised geometric pattern is a well-known motif in the Perigord region of France whereas the wave pattern and diagonally incised decoration is typical of the western Pyrenees. The regional variation and overlaps may suggest that patterns were particular to the identity of different groups of people occupying and sometimes sharing particular territories.
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