Burin (lithic flake)

This article is about the prehistoric stone tool. For the modern cutting tool, see Burin (engraving).
Burin from the Upper Paleolithic (Gravettian) (ca. 29,000–22,000 BP)

In archaeology and the field of lithic reduction, a burin /ˈbjuːrɪn/ (from the French burin, meaning "cold chisel" or modern engraving burin) is a type of stone tool, a handheld lithic flake with a chisel-like edge which prehistoric humans used for carving or finishing wood or bone tools or weapons, and sometimes for engraving images.

In archaeology, burin use is often associated with "burin spalls", which are a form of debitage created when toolmakers strike a small flake obliquely from the edge of the burin flake in order to form the graving edge.[1]

  1. ^ "burin spall". Archaeology Wordsmith