Flint implements with rounded ends, excavated at several Late Palaeolithic
sites in Denmark and the Netherlands, are described and interpreted as stri
ke-a-lights used in combination with pyrites. Experiments were carried out;
the use-wear traces on the experimental pieces are similar to those occurr
ing on the prehistoric specimens. It is concluded that the pyrite technique
for fire production most probably predated wood-on-wood techniques, both i
n Europe and Greenland.