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 knappen (the k is not silent) which means to crack or crackle. Prehistoric flinknappers used hammers made from various materials to remove flakes and blades from a core. The type of hammer tool depended on the type of tool the flintknapper had in mind.

Hard hammers

Hard stones such a quartzite, granite and sandstone are most suitable as hammerstones. Often small flint nodules were also used, although these can easily lose flakes or shatter and break. Most hammerstones are spherical or ovally shaped cobbles that fit comfortably in the hand, often picked up from a river bed. They have characteristic abrasions and flake scars on prominent points of the stone as a result of the percussion on the striking platform of the core.

Flakes and blades produced by direct percussion of a core with a hard hammer are characterised by a broad thick butt and a large bulb of percussion (see the Neolithic knife from Rijckholt in the Flint post). Often a prominent erailleur scar can be seen on the bulb and visible ripples (see Stone Tool Characteristics post). Many such flakes show premature terminations such as step fractures and hinges. Stone hammers were also used for removing thin long blades via indirect percussion, by using a punch placed on the edge of the platform.

Hammerstones used for direct percussion (from left to right: flint nodule (from Bathampton), sandstone hammer (top, Sweikhuizen), flint retouchoir (bottom, Midsomer Norton)) and an antler tine for soft percussion and retouch.

Granite hammerstone from Les Eyzies de Tayac (France) probably picked up from the Vézère river bed, ready to use as hammer and grinding stone.

Soft hammers

Soft hammers, made from antler, bone, wood or softer stones, produce thin and flat flakes with a small butt. Because of the reduced force of the blow, the bulb of percussion and the ripples are more diffuse. Often a lip can be observed between the butt and the bulb. Soft hammer percussion is the easiest way to remove large, thin flakes, and is particularly useful in producing thin tools that are worked on both sides. Exceptional examples of this type of flaking are the large, ultra-thin laurel leaf points from the Solutrean period (Upper Palaeolithic, 20,000 – 18,000 ya) and Neolithic leaf points. Because most soft hammers are made from organic materials, they rarely survive and the antler shown in the picture is part of a modern flintknappers toolkit.

Ultra-thin African Neolithic leaf point (4.5cm long) from Niger made by soft hammer percussion.

Retouch

After removal, the flake blank can be worked into specific tools such as scrapers, knives, borers, awls, arrowheads, microliths, burins etc. via secondary working. This final edge sharpening and retouch involves the removal of small flakes around the edges of the flake by using a retouchoir, a small hammerstone or a piece of bone or antler. Small flakes can also be removed by the application of pressure for instance with the tip of an antler tine, like the one shown above.