 | This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. (November 2010) |
In archaeology, a prismatic blade is a long, narrow, specialized stone flake tool with a sharp edge, like a small razor blade.[1] Prismatic blades are flaked from stone cores through pressure flaking or direct percussion.[2] This process results in a very standardized finished tool and waste assemblage. The most famous and most prevalent prismatic blade material is obsidian, as obsidian use was widespread in Mesoamerica, though chert, flint, and chalcedony blades are not uncommon. The term is generally restricted to Mesoamerican archaeology, although some examples are found in the Old World, for example in a Minoan grave in Crete.[3]
Prismatic blades were used for cutting and scraping, and have been reshaped into other tool types, such as projectile points and awls.
- ^ Hester et al. (1971)
- ^ Driscoll, Killian; García-Rojas, Maite (2014). "Their lips are sealed: identifying hard stone, soft stone, and antler hammer direct percussion in Palaeolithic prismatic blade production" (PDF). Journal of Archaeological Science. 47: 134–141. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2014.04.008.
- ^ Betancourt, Philip P., Hagios Charalambos: A Minoan Burial Cave in Crete: I. Excavation and Portable Objects, 2014, INSTAP, ISBN 1623033934, 9781623033934, google books