Flintknapper - Your Art History Reference Guide!

ArtHistoryClub Information Site on Flintknapper Art History Art History Search        Art History Browse             News        Gallery        Forums        Articles        Weblinks        welcome to our free resource site for all art history lovers!

Flintknapper

A flintknapper is an individual who manufactures stone tools through the process of lithic reduction. This is done by using a fabricator, such as a hammerstone, to remove lithic flakes from a nucleus or core of tool stone. More refined work can be done using wood, bone, and antler tools to perform pressure flaking.

In prehistoric cultures flintknappers were common, but the art has all but died out in modern times. However, there are some hobbyists and archeologists who teach themselves flintknapping even today. Although their reasons for doing so are varied, archeologists usually undertake the task so that they can better understand how prehistoric stone tools were made.

For more information, see lithic reduction.

Last updated: 08-22-2005 21:44:31
Last updated: 01-04-2007 01:18:57
The contents of this article are licensed from Wikipedia.org under the
GNU Free Documentation License. See original document.
Art History Search | Art History Browse | Contact | Legal info