Ancient stone tools

A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made of stone. Although stone-tool-dependant cultures exist even today, most stone tools are associated with prehistoric societies that no longer exist. http://www. ... http://www. ... This page discusses common devices known as tools, for other meanings see Tool (disambiguation) Modern hammer A tool is, among other things, a device that provides a mechanical or mental advantage in accomplishing a task. ... Sedimentary, volcanic, plutonic, metamorphic rock types of North America. ... Culture refers to the customs, arts, attitudes, institutions, and other traits that characterize a particular society or nation. ... 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). ...

The study of stone tools is often called lithic analysis by archaeologists. Stone tools may be made of chipped stone or ground stone. A person who makes chipped stone implements is called a flintknapper. In archaeology, lithic analysis is the analysis of stone tools using basic scientific techniques. ... In archaeology, chipped stone refers to a method of manufacturing stone tools through lithic reduction, wherein lithic flakes are struck off a mass of tool stone with a percussor. ... In archaeology, ground stone is a category of stone tool formed by the grinding of a coarse-grained tool stone, either purposefully or incidentally. ... A flintknapper is an individual who manufactures stone tools through the process of lithic reduction. ...

Chipped stone tools are made from cryptocrystalline materials such as chert, radiolarite, chalcedony or obsidian via a process known as lithic reduction. One simple form of reduction is to strike stone flakes from a nucleus (core) of material using a hammerstone or similar hard hammer fabricator. If the goal of the reduction strategy is to produce flakes, the remnant lithic core may be discarded once it has become too small to use. In some strategies, however, a flintknapper reduces the core to a rough unifacial or bifacial preform, which is further reduced using soft hammer flaking techniques or by pressure flaking the edges. More complex forms of reduction include the production of highly standardized blades, which can then be fashioned into a variety of tools such as scrapers, knives, sickles and microliths. In general terms, chipped stone tools are nearly ubiquitous in all pre-metal-using societies because they are easily manufactured, the tool stone is usually plentiful, and they are easy to transport and sharpen. A cryptocrystal is a rock whose texture is so finely crystalline—that is, made up of such minute crystals—that its crystalline nature is only vaguely revealed even in a thin section by transmitted polarized light. ... Chert Chert is a fine-grained silica-rich cryptocrystalline sedimentary rock that may contain small fossils. ... Chalcedony Knife, AD 1000-1200 Chalcedony is one of the cryptocrystalline varieties of the mineral quartz, having a waxy luster. ... Question: Does obsidian have a cleavage, and if so, what is it? Top stone is obsidian, below that is pumice and in lower right hand is rhyolite (light color) Obsidian is a type of naturally occurring glass, produced from volcanoes when the right kind of lava cools rapidly, e. ... 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. ... In archaeology, a hammerstone is a hard cobble used to strike lithic flakes off a lump of tool stone during the process of lithic reduction. ... In archaeology, a lithic core is a distinctive artifact that results from the practice of lithic reduction. ... A flintknapper is an individual who manufactures stone tools through the process of lithic reduction. ... In archeology, a uniface is a specific type of stone tool that has been flaked on one surface only. ... In archaeology, a biface is a two-sided stone tool, manufactured through a process of lithic reduction, that displays flake scars on both sides. ... A preform is the rough, incomplete and unused basic form of a stone tool formed by lithic reduction. ... In lithic reduction, pressure flaking is a method of trimming the edge of a stone tool by removing small lithic flakes by pressing on the stone with a sharp instrument rather than striking it with a percussor. ... In archeology, scrapers are unifacial tools that were used either for hideworking or woodworking purposes. ... traditional Norse knife A knife is a sharp-edged hand tool used for cutting. ... For the fictional unit of money called a sickle, see Money in Harry Potter. ... A microlith is a small stone tool, typically knapped of flint or chert. ... In archaeology, a tool stone is a type of stone that is used to manufacture stone tools. ...

Ground stone tools are maufactured from larger-grained materials such as basalt and some forms of rhyolite, which are not suitable for flaking. Because of their coarse surfaces, many ground stone tools are ideal for grinding plant foods. Some ground stone tools are incidental, caused by use with other tools: manos, for example, are hand stones used in conjunction with metates, and develop their ground surfaces through wear. Other ground stone tools include adzes, celts, and axes, which are manufactured using a labor-intensive, time-consuming method of repeated grinding against a harder stone, often using water as a lubricant. Basalt Basalt is an extrusive igneous rock, sometimes porphyritic, and is often both fine-grained and dense. ... Rhyolite Rhyolite is an igneous, volcanic (extrusive) rock, of felsic composition, with aphanitic to porphyritic texture. ... Mano is a DC Comics supervillain. ... The tool known as the adze serves for smoothing rough-cut wood in hand woodworking. ... A Celtic cross. ... Ax music is a style of popular music which orginated in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. ... A falling water droplet Water (from the Anglo-Saxon and Low German wæter) is a colourless, tasteless, and odourless substance that is essential to all known forms of life and is the most universal solvent. ...

Another type of stone that may be considered an artifact is burnt or fire-cracked rock, also abbreviated as FCR. It can be distinguished from stone tools by a lack of conchoidal fracture surfaces. Fire-cracked rock is rock of any type that has been altered and split by deliberate heating. It is a feature of many archaeological sites, particularly in the south-central United States. FCR is occasionally confused with heat-treated tool stone, but the latter is a different type of material resulting from a different heating process. In archaeology, fire-cracked rock is rock of any type that has been altered and split by deliberate heating. ... A conchoidal fracture is produced when some types of mineral, such as obsidian and flint, are broken. ... An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic), and which has been investigated using the discipline of archaeology. ... The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... Heat Treatment is a group of manufacturing techniques used to alter the hardness and toughness of a material. ... In archaeology, a tool stone is a type of stone that is used to manufacture stone tools. ...