Ancient Acheulean handaxe Identified in Melun Diptych

Ancient Acheulean handaxe Identified in Melun Diptych October 19 2023 Picture: cambridge.org Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz: I recently came across an article promoting this fascinating research paper that was published in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal earlier this summer. The article by Alastair Key, James Clark, Jeremy DeSilva and Steven Kangas discusses their identification of an ancient Acheulean handaxe in Jean Fouquet's Melun Diptych in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp. Here's the paper's abstract: Handaxes have a uniquely prominent role in the history of Palaeolithic archaeology, and their early study provides crucial information concerning the epistemology of the field. We have little conclusive evidence, however, of their investigation or societal value prior to the mid seventeenth century. Here we investigate the shape, colour and potential flake scarring on a handaxe-like stone object seen in the Melun Diptych, painted by the French fifteenth-century artist Jean Fouquet, and compare its features with artefacts from diverse (including French) Acheulean handaxe assemblages. Commissioned by a high-status individual, Étienne Chevalier, Fouquet's work (Étienne Chevalier with Saint Stephen) depicts an important religious context, while the handaxe-like object points to the stoning to death of an important Christian saint. Our results strongly support the interpretation that the painted stone object represents a flint Acheulean handaxe, likely sourced from northern France, where Fouquet lived. Identifying a fifteenth-century painting of a handaxe does not change what we know about Acheulean individuals, but it does push back the evidence for when handaxes became a prominent part of the ‘modern’ social and cultural world. The article is free to read via the link above.