hammerstones
Stone Age strikers
Hammerstones are rocks used as striking tools, especially in prehistoric contexts.
Archaeologists find them at early human sites, where they served to chip flint into blades or crack bones for marrow.
A good hammerstone fits the hand and has enough heft to deliver controlled blows: The dig uncovered several hammerstones near the flint-knapping area.
Archaeological stone implements
- knappingFracturing stone for tools
- flintknappingStriking stone to shape tools
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- excavationAct of unearthing
core · assemblage · stratigraphy · site · dig · archaeologist · typology · percussion
Spark-producing sedimentary rock
- chertFine-grained siliceous stone
- obsidianGlassy igneous rock
- quartziteMetamorphic silica-rich stone
- basaltFine-grained volcanic stone
granite · cobble · nodule · core · anvil · percussion · platform · flake
Earliest archaeological era
- NeolithicFinal prehistoric stone-tool era
- MesolithicMiddle stone era
- ClovisFirst Merovingian ruler
- Bronze AgeEarly metalworking civilization period
Stone Age · handaxe · chopper · scraper · ancestors · hominins · early humans · subsistence
Forceful repeated striking
- grindingMolar action sometimes
- crushingOverwhelming in intensity
- strikingNoticeably impressive
- shapingGiving something its form
processing · nutcracking · butchering · food preparation · bone breaking · pecking · battering
lithics
Archaeological stone implements
- knappingFracturing stone for tools
- flintknappingStriking stone to shape tools
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
excavation · core · assemblage · stratigraphy · site · dig · archaeologist · typology · percussion · cortex
flint
Spark-producing sedimentary rock
basalt · granite · cobble · nodule · core · anvil · percussion · platform · flake · blank
Paleolithic
Earliest archaeological era
- NeolithicFinal prehistoric stone-tool era
- MesolithicMiddle stone era
- ClovisFirst Merovingian ruler
Bronze Age · Stone Age · handaxe · chopper · scraper · ancestors · hominins · early humans · subsistence · toolmaking
pounding
Forceful repeated striking
shaping · processing · nutcracking · butchering · food preparation · bone breaking · pecking · battering
hammerstoneshandaxes
Prehistoric stone cutting implements
flakes · blades · cores · arrowheads · finished products
hammerstonescores
Central essential parts
blanks · raw material · obsidian · workpieces