Editing Perforated baton (section)

==Description and function==
Bâtons percés are made from a length of [[antler]], or [[ivory]], with at least one round hole typically made at one end.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1126/sciadv.adh5217 | title=Rope making in the Aurignacian of Central Europe more than 35,000 years ago | date=2024 | last1=Conard | first1=Nicholas J. | last2=Rots | first2=Veerle | journal=Science Advances | volume=10 | issue=5 | pages=eadh5217 | pmid=38295167 | pmc=10830101 | bibcode=2024SciA...10H5217C }}</ref> They often have abstract or animal designs etched into them (such as [[Baton fragment (Palart 310)|horses]]).  They have been found at [[Aurignacian]] and [[Magdalenian]] sites of the [[Upper Paleolithic]] in Europe,{{sfn|Shaw|Jameson|2008|p=110}} with examples dating from 35–12,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1126/sciadv.adh5217 | title=Rope making in the Aurignacian of Central Europe more than 35,000 years ago | date=2024 | last1=Conard | first1=Nicholas J. | last2=Rots | first2=Veerle | journal=Science Advances | volume=10 | issue=5 | pages=eadh5217 | pmid=38295167 | pmc=10830101 | bibcode=2024SciA...10H5217C }}</ref> They have a joint at one end, often forming a T or Y shape, but always with a swelling of the antler at that end. There is a circular hole drilled through the antler just below the swelling or joint, and often a smaller second hole nearby on the shaft. Typical examples range from 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20&nbsp;cm) in length.<ref name=wescott>{{cite book
 | author = David Wescott|title=Primitive Technology: A Book of Earth Skills|publisher=Gibbs Smith|year=1999|isbn=978-0879059118}}</ref> One unusual bone baton from le Souci, [[Lalinde]] has a row of eight holes of different sizes.<ref>{{cite book|last=Barbatti|first=Bruno|author-link=Bruno Barbatti|title=Berber Carpets of Morocco: The Symbols, Origin and Meaning|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f_5SiwJHt48C&pg=PA125|year=2008|publisher=www.acr-edition.com|isbn=978-2-86770-184-9}}, Figure 15.7]</ref>

The purpose of the bâton percé was originally thought to be as a symbol of power or status, hence the early name ''bâton de commandement'', or ''rod of command'', given by [[Louis Laurent Gabriel de Mortillet]]. This interpretation is now thought unlikely; one French archaeologist wrote derisively of the name summoning up the image of "an aged general... directing... an assault on a [[mammoth]]".<ref>André Leroi-Gourhan, 1967, quoted Haynes, 123</ref>  Other interpretations include:
* An [[arrow]] or spear-straightener, with the shaft to be straightened passing through the hole<ref name=wescott />
* A spear thrower<ref name=wescott />
* A symbol of fertility, with the long handle as a male phallic symbol, and the hole as representing the vagina<ref name=wescott/><ref name=windle>{{cite book|last=Windle|first=Bertram|author-link=Bertram Windle|title=Remains of the Prehistoric Age in England|url=https://archive.org/details/remainsprehisto00windgoog|year=1904|publisher=Methuen & Company}}</ref>
* A dress fastener<ref name=windle/>
* A calendar used by midwives<ref name=thompson>{{cite book|last=Thompson|first=William Irwin|author-link=William Irwin Thompson|title=The Time Falling Bodies Take To Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F43vCgAAQBAJ|year=1996|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-312-16062-3}}</ref>
*A tool for smoothing and shaping leather thongs.<ref>Haynes, 122-123</ref>
*A [[dildo]]; few archaeologists consider these items as sex toys, but archaeologist [[Timothy Taylor (archaeologist)|Timothy Taylor]] put it, "Looking at the size, shape, and—some cases—explicit symbolism of the ice age batons, it seems disingenuous to avoid the most obvious and straightforward interpretation. But it has been avoided."<ref name='taylor_prehistory'>Taylor, T. 1996. ''The Prehistory of Sex.'' New York: Bantam.  p. 128.</ref><ref name='macaques'>Paul L. Vasey, ''Intimate Sexual Relations in Prehistory: Lessons from the Japanese Macaques.''  World Archaeology, Vol. 29, No. 3, Intimate Relations (Feb., 1998), pp. 407-425</ref>
*In some instances, a rope making tool.

The British Museum "scope note" for "Perforated baton" says in 2011: "They are now understood to [be] implements used in the manufacture and throwing of spears."<ref>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectId=1502912 British Museum], follow "scope note" link near top of page.</ref>

Focusing only on what the objects were used for does not, however, account for why they were decorated.