Lithic Technology and Analysis

Key vocabulary terms, fracture mechanics concepts, and diagnostic attributes in lithic technology and stone tool reduction.

Conchoidal

The property of a rock substrate that enables it to break in a predictable, controllable manner when subjected to percussive fracture, making it suitable for flaking.

Thin section

A rock slice cut so thin by a specialized saw that it becomes translucent, which is then mounted onto a microscope slide for petrographic and microscopic examination.

Provenience (in lithic analysis)

The archaeological exercise of identifying the original geological outcrops utilized by human populations through macroscopic visual inspection, thin section microscopy, and XRF.

Manuport

An unmodified or minimally tested rock piece transported by hominins from its raw outcrop to an occupation site for testing and potential subsequent reduction.

Core

A stone piece that displays clear physical evidence that at least one flake removal has taken place.

Hard hammer

A percussor made of stone that performs the majority of reduction tasks and produces comparatively thicker detached pieces.

Soft hammer

An organic percussor made of wood or bone that strikes at different blow angles and removes thinner flakes than a stone hammer.

Platform

The surface on a stone core or flake that directly receives the percussive blow from a hammer.

Cortex

The outer natural weathered surface or 'skin' of a raw stone piece or cobble.

Cortical flake

A detached piece produced early in the reduction process that retains cortex across part or all of its exterior surface.

Flake

A detached stone piece removed from a core that formally exhibits four diagnostic attributes: a dorsal side, a ventral side, a striking platform, and a bulb of percussion.

Dorsal side

The face of a detached flake that exhibits the older, previous flaking surfaces and scar history.

Ventral side

The brand-new, freshly exposed fracture surface formed directly by the force that detached the flake from the core.

Bulb of percussion

The swelling or cone-like mechanical wave expansion located directly adjacent to the striking platform on the ventral face of a flake.

Retouch

The secondary modification of a flake edge—often using soft-hammer pressure—to alter its shape and functional purpose, such as turning a cutting edge into a scraping tool.

Proximal zone

The end of a flake oriented toward and anchored by the striking platform and the bulb of percussion.

Dorsal ridges

The linear crests preserved on a flake's dorsal surface that analysts count to determine the number of prior removals, signaling the intensity of core reduction.

Hinge

A flaking fracture accident or premature termination that results when the knapper applies less force than required.

Overshoot

A knapping accident or termination that occurs when excessive force is applied during a strike, carrying the fracture across the base of the core.