In
archaeology, a
hammerstone is a hard
cobble used to strike
lithic flakes off a lump of
tool stone during the process of
lithic reduction.
[1] Often, a hammerstone is made of a material such as
limestone or
quartzite, is often
ovoid in shape (to better fit the human hand), and develops telltale battering marks on one or both ends. Hammerstones are often found in archaeological recovery in association with other stone tool artifacts,
debitage and/or objects of the hammer such as ore.
[2][3] This technology was of major importance to
prehistoric cultures before the age of metalworking; today, however, the use of hammerstones is mostly limited to
flintknappers and others who wish to develop a better understanding of how
stone tools were made.
The hammerstone is a rather universal stone tool which appeared early in most regions of the world including Europe, India[4] and North America.
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