Gift to the Museum of Man 1953 (≈ 1953)
Transfer by the Dauxerre heirs.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Key figures
M. Dauxerre - Discoverer of the polisher
Identified around 1865.
Louis Dubreuil-Chambardel - Author and illustrator
Documenta the object in 1923.
Origin and history
Ferriere-Larçon polisher is a flint block with grooves on both sides, used in Neolithic to sharpen tools. Discovered around 1865 by M. Dauxerre, it is 69 cm long, 41 cm wide and 10 to 14 cm thick. This type of object demonstrates the prehistoric craftsmanship and the importance of polished stone tools in the agrarian societies of the time.
Ranked a historic monument in 1889, the polisher remained on the Temple property at Ferrière-Larçon until 1953, when Mr. Dauxerre's heirs ceded it to the Museum of Man. Today, it is exhibited at the National Museum of Natural History under the MNHN-HP-53-6.1 inventory number. Its initial location, near the Marchais, reflects the Neolithic occupation of the Touraine, a region rich in prehistoric remains.
The object was documented by Louis Dubreuil-Chambardel in La Touraine préhistorique (1923), where illustrations (plank III) accompany his description. The accuracy of its current location is considered "passable" (note 5/10), but its history remains linked to the town of Ferrière-Larçon, in Indre-et-Loire. This polisher illustrates the archaeological heritage of the Centre-Val de Loire region, marked by major discoveries dating from the Neolithic period.
