Lithic blade

In archaeology, a lithic blade is a type of stone tool created during lithic reduction by striking a long narrow flake from a stone core. Lithic blades are generally defined as being flakes that are at least twice as long as they are wide. Lithic blades are generally created using stones that have a cryptocrystalline structure. Blades are highly prominent in cultures of the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras, although they are occasionally found in earlier periods.

The long sharp edges of lithic blades made them useful for a variety of purposes. After blades are flaked, they are often incorporated as parts of larger tools, such as serving as the heads of spears. Other times, the simple shape and sharpness serves the designed role. Blades were often employed in the impression process of material culture, assisting ancient humans in imprinting ornate designs into other parts of their material culture. Scrapers, used for hide working or woodworking, or burins, used for engraving, are two common such examples.

Cores from which blades have been struck are called blade cores and the tools created from single blades are called blade tools. Small examples (under 12 mm) are called microblades and were used in the Mesolithic as elements of composite tools. Blades with one edge blunted by removal of tiny flakes are called backed blade. A blade core becomes an exhausted core when there are no more useful angles to knock off blades.

Blades can be classified into many different types depending on their shape and size. Archaeologists have also been known to use the microscopic striations created from the lithic reduction process to classify the blades into specific types. Once classified archaeologists can use this information to see how the blade was produced, who produced it, and how it was used.