Craft blank

It is a craft fragment made from the rib of a large animal, in the form of a rounded "head" or pommel. One side of the object is convex, while the other side is flattened. The craft contour was cut out from the split rib, and the surface has just started to be sanded - the porous structure of the bone can be seen. There are rough creases visible on its convex end, which are traces of cutting or chopping when the blank was separated from the rest of the bone. These creases were not treated. Perhaps the "head" has been broken off during the treatment and was discarded. The product is unfinished, thus its final shape is uncertain. The master’s intention was perhaps to make some sort of tool decorating its handle with an expanding pommel. Possible this object was used as a tool for working with leather. Such products were sometimes decorated with zoomorphic or anthropomorphic finials, or they could be used as the blank for a small spoon. Although the product resembles a human head, it is unlikely that it was a figurine, as they were made as a rule at that time from mammoth tusks or, less often from stone. The functional purpose of this item is unclear, but it could be the pommel of a tool handle or a blank for a small object, such as a pendant. This is a rare find among Upper Paleolithic artifacts in Eurasia.