Handaxes have a uniquely prominent role in the history of Palaeolithic archaeology, and their early study provides crucial information concerning the epistemology of the field. We have little conclusive evidence, however, of their investigation or societal value prior to the mid seventeenth century. Here we investigate the shape, colour and potential flake scarring on a handaxe-like stone object seen in the Melun Diptych, painted by the French fifteenth-century artist Jean Fouquet, and compare its features with artefacts from diverse (including French) Acheulean handaxe assemblages. Commissioned by a high-status individual, Étienne Chevalier, Fouquet's work (Étienne Chevalier with Saint Stephen) depicts an important religious context, while the handaxe-like object points to the stoning to death of an important Christian saint. Our results strongly support the interpretation that the painted stone object represents a flint Acheulean handaxe, likely sourced from northern France, where Fouquet lived. Identifying a fifteenth-century painting of a handaxe does not change what we know about Acheulean individuals, but it does push back the evidence for when handaxes became a prominent part of the ‘modern’ social and cultural world.

手斧在旧石器时代考古史上具有独特的突出作用，其早期研究提供了有关该领域认识论的重要信息。然而，我们几乎没有确凿的证据证明它们在十七世纪中叶之前的调查或社会价值。在这里，我们研究了法国 15 世纪艺术家让·富凯 (Jean Fouquet) 所画的《默伦双联画》中发现的类似手斧的石器的形状、颜色和潜在的片状疤痕，并将其特征与来自不同（包括法国）阿舍利手斧组合的文物进行了比较。受地位高的人艾蒂安·谢瓦利埃委托，富凯的作品（《艾蒂安·谢瓦利埃与圣斯蒂芬》）描绘了一个重要的宗教背景，而手斧状的物体则指向一位重要的基督教圣人被乱石砸死的情况。我们的研究结果有力地支持了这样的解释：这件彩绘石制品代表了一把阿舍利燧石手斧，很可能来自富凯居住的法国北部。识别一幅十五世纪的手斧绘画并不会改变我们对阿舍利人的了解，但它确实推翻了手斧何时成为“现代”社会和文化世界的重要组成部分的证据。