A Flintknapper's Toolkit
The word knapping, used to describe the act of chipping off stone flakes with a hammerstone, originates from the Dutch onomatopoeic verb...
Burins, the Chisels of the Late Ice Age
Burins are not much to look at but these blades with their chiseled edges were not only the most important tool in the reindeer hunters’...
Flint
Flint, also known as hornstone, chert or silex, is one of the most common, hardest and most durable rocks. Because of these...
The Big Game Hunters of the Vézère Valley
The Vézère valley in the Dordogne region is one of my favorite holiday destinations in France. The Vézère river, a tributary of the...
The Early Settlers of the Somer Valley
This handaxe, covered with a thick layer of dark brown patina acquired over many thousands of years of weathering, is one of hundreds of...
The Prepared Core Technology
Around 320,000 years ago a new flaking technology came to dominate the toolkit of early humans in Europe, marking the beginning of what...