Something I have been aware of for a few years is the Thumb motif found on my site and in other hand axes and blade tools. I have already shown a number of hand shapes in my poly iconic materials and perhaps there is a similar meaning to these icons. I have long suggested that these motifs are actually visual language devices rather than art per se. I have found many suspected thumb shapes from my find site and have seen others, both recognized and unrecognized both in flint tool form or just as worked stones. So what is the meaning of this motif? Many portable rock art finds contain images of hominins and apes, usually in head profile form, and there is a great variety of both, all of these motifs can be replaced by the thumb motif. So instead of carving various ape and hominin head profiles, prehistoric men could of carved a thumb shape to indicate all, allow me to explain a little further. One of the unique features of hominins is opposable thumbs, so this motif would cover all hominins. On a double sided piece direction of travel could be easily indicated, furthermore when the piece is turned upside down this could indicate all apes and monkeys, as the thumb would be in the position it is on monkeys hands rather than the natural position it is in on the hands of humans and hominins.
This is a Flint hand Axe found in Kent Uk, a thumb shape and nail can be seen. Source: www.stoneagetools.co.uk
Below: A selection of 3 thumb shapes found from my find site, The top one is also a blade tool.
Below another one of my UK thumb finds.
The Two Flint tool finds below were both found in North America and Both show the Thumb Motif.
Below: The bottom picture also shows the Elephant and front leg motif.