chert
Limestone's hard cousin
Chert is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed mainly of silica, often forming in nodules within limestone or chalk.
It breaks with sharp, shell-like fractures, which made it valuable to prehistoric peoples for crafting tools and weapons.
Flint is the most familiar variety of chert.
The rock appears in various colors depending on impurities present, from gray and brown to red or green.
Crystalline silicon dioxide
- silicaSilicon dioxide compound
- chalcedonyTranslucent microcrystalline silica variety
- jasperOpaque colored quartz
- flintSpark-producing sedimentary rock
agate · opal · conchoidal · fracture · microcrystalline · luster · waxy · opaque
Striking stone to shape tools
- arrowheadPiercing end of projectile
- spearheadLead an effort
- scraperTool for removing buildup
- handaxeKnapped stone implement
adze · burin · knapping · blade · core · flake · pressure flaking · hammerstone
Curved fracture surface shape
- sharpFine-edged, or astute
- edgeBoundary or sharpness
- flakingShedding in layers
- brittleLiable to shatter
splintering · fracturing · breakage · shatter · cleaving · snapping · glassy · smooth
Formed from deposited material
- limestoneCarbonate sedimentary rock
- nodulesSmall rounded protuberances
- strataParallel geological layers
- bedrockSolid stone underground
outcrop · concretions · sedimentation · formation · chalk · shale · marine · deposits
Earliest archaeological era
- NeolithicFinal prehistoric stone-tool era
- MesolithicMiddle stone era
- archaeologyStudy of physical remnants
- hunter-gatherersSubsistence through wild resources
Stone Age · excavation · artifact · assemblage · quarry · trade routes · raw material · prehistoric tools
quartz
Crystalline silicon dioxide
- silicaSilicon dioxide compound
- chalcedonyTranslucent microcrystalline silica variety
- jasperOpaque colored quartz
flint · agate · opal · conchoidal · fracture · microcrystalline · luster · waxy · opaque · translucent
flintknapping
Striking stone to shape tools
handaxe · adze · burin · knapping · blade · core · flake · pressure flaking · hammerstone · anvil
conchoidal
Curved fracture surface shape
brittle · splintering · fracturing · breakage · shatter · cleaving · snapping · glassy · smooth · curved
sedimentary
Formed from deposited material
- limestoneCarbonate sedimentary rock
- nodulesSmall rounded protuberances
- strataParallel geological layers
bedrock · outcrop · concretions · sedimentation · formation · chalk · shale · marine · deposits · layered
Paleolithic
Earliest archaeological era
- NeolithicFinal prehistoric stone-tool era
- MesolithicMiddle stone era
- archaeologyStudy of physical remnants
hunter-gatherers · Stone Age · excavation · artifact · assemblage · quarry · trade routes · raw material · prehistoric tools · stratigraphy
- geologybedrock, fault lines, faults, rock, basalt
- mineralsquartz, marble, granite, limestone, sandstone
- rocksbasalt, granite, sandstone, marble, shale
- Stone Agecave painting, paleolithic, hand ax, handaxes, hand axe
- rock fragmentspebble, gravel, chip, shard, fragment
- sedimentary rocksshale, sandstone, limestone, mudstone, siltstone
chertobsidian
Glassy igneous rock
basalt · volcanic glass · pumice · granite · rhyolite
chertobsidian
Glassy igneous rock
volcanic glass · opal · tektite · rock crystal · amethyst