In lithic reduction, a burin is a special type of lithic flake with a chisel-like edge which prehistoric humans may have used for engraving or for carving wood or bone. Burins exhibit a feature called a "burin spall", in which toolmakers strike a small flake obliquely from the edge of the burin flake in order to form the graving edge. Burin usage is diagnostic of Upper Palaeolithic cultures in Europe, but archaeologists have also identified it in North American cultural assemblages, and in his book Early Man in China Prof. Dr. Jia Lanpo of Beijing University lists dihedral burins and burins for truncation among artifacts uncovered along the banks of the Liyigon river near Xujiayao. Lithic reduction involves the use of a hard hammer percussor, such as a hammerstone, a soft hammer fabricator made of wood, bone or antler, or a wood or antler punch to detach lithic flakes from a lump of tool stone called a lithic core. ... In archaeology, a lithic flake is a thin, sharp fragment of stone that results from the process of lithic reduction. ... Steel woodworking chisel. ... Prehistory (Greek words προ = before and ιστορία = history) is the period of human history prior to the advent of writing (which marks the beginning of recorded history). ... Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. ... Trunks A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is derived from woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs. ... For other uses, see Bone (disambiguation), including Bones which redirects here. ... Very high speed photography of a small projectile impacting a thin aluminium plate at 7000 m/s. ... The Upper Paleolithic or Palaeolithic is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. ... In archaeology, culture refers to either of two separate but allied concepts: An archaeological culture is a pattern of similar artefacts and features found within a specific area over a limited period of time. ... World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the six inhabited continents of the Earth. ... Archaeology, archeology, or archology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech/discourse) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...

Dihedral burin on a blade Image File history File links Buril_diedro. ...

Canted burin with multiple facets Image File history File links Burin_caréné.png‎ File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Burin ...

In modern usage, burin refers to a steel cutting tool used by engravers. The old Steel cable of a colliery winding tower Steel is sometimes described as a sea of electrons. ...

In the Clavicula Salomonis, a 16th century grimoire, a burin is one of many consecrated instruments. This design for an amulet comes from the Black Pullet grimoire. ...

The word comes from the French burin meaning "cold chisel". Steel woodworking chisel. ...