In archaeology, a hammerstone is a hard cobble used to strike off lithic flakes from a lump of tool stone during the process of lithic reduction. The hammerstone is a rather universal stone tool which appeared early in most regions of the world including Europe, India and North America. This technology was of major importance to prehistoric cultures before the age of metalworking.
various hammerstones
An example of a cobble used as a hammerstone
Retouch by direct percussion on a stone anvil.
Various types of hard hammer
In archaeology, in particular of the Stone Age, lithic reduction is the process of fashioning stones or rocks from their natural state into tools or weapons by removing some parts. It has been intensely studied and many archaeological industries are identified almost entirely by the lithic analysis of the precise style of their tools and the chaîne opératoire of the reduction techniques they used.
Mount William stone axe quarry in Australia
An example of an obsidian core that has had flakes removed using bipolar percussion.
An example of hard hammer percussion.
An example of soft hammer percussion