cases—explicit symbolism of the ice age batons, it seems disingenuous to avoid the most obvious and straightforward interpretation. But it has been avoided." 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." Focusing only on what the objects were used for does not, however, account for why they were decorated. The spear thrower hypothesis The use of the bâton percé as a spear-thrower has been the subject of experimental archaeology which has yielded evidence in support of the hypothesis that the bâton percé was used as a spear thrower. The spear thrower hypothesis was first put forward in an article by artist Leon Underwood in 1965. In this, Underwood, who had previously engaged in experimental archeology working with bronze artifacts, rejected the classification of the bâton percé as a "magic wand", and drew comparisons between it and more contemporary Inuit spear throwers. Underwood's hypothesis was that the existing samples of the bâton percé were in poor shape, and may have been missing a hook, such as that found on the Inuit spear thrower and the atlatl. Underwood built two wooden models, based on different bâton percé from museum collections, but with the addition of a 'nipple' or hook to the end of the shaft opposite the hole. These reproductions were compared against Inuit designs, and were found to offer superior performance when throwing fletched spears; Underwood pointed out that the Inuit throwers, built using driftwood, were necessarily weaker and that the design reflected the available materials. In another experiment, the bâton percé was used in the other orientation, held so that the end with the hole was outwards, and no hook was added. In this series of tests, a , fletched spear was used. To use the bâton percé as a spear thrower, a length of cord is attached to the spear, near the middle of the spear. Leather would be suitable for lighter spears, while sinew would be required for heavier spears. The addition of the cord turns the spear into a large Swiss arrow. Using the spear thus equipped as a Swiss arrow resulted in a 43% increase in range, compared to a hand thrown spear. The bâton percé is used by feeding the cord through the hole, and laying the cord along the