Stone flakes

The most common stone tool recorded in Australia is known as a flake. Flakes are smaller pieces of stone ‘knapped’ or struck off a cobble or pebble of stone (referred to as a core) with a striking stone (known as a hammerstone – usually a rounded stone or pebble of denser material). Flakes are used as cutting and scraping tools.

Ripple marks and fissures are made as the pressure from the strike of the hammerstone against the core undulates through the stone and breaks off to form the flake. Retouch flakes occur when tiny pieces of stone are ‘flaked’ off cutting tools to create a sharp edge and are usually made quite quickly. These are some of the ways that we know an object is a stone tool compared to a piece of gravel which has natural and angular fractures and breaks.