Tranchet axe
Encyclopedia
A Tranchet axe is a lithic
tool made by removing a flake
, known, when using this method, as a tranchet flake
, parallel to the final intended cutting edge of the tool which creates a single straight edge as wide as the tool itself. It is found in some Acheulean
assemblages as well as in Mesolithic
flaked stone industries.
Stone tool
A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made either partially or entirely out of stone. Although stone tool-dependent societies and cultures still exist today, most stone tools are associated with prehistoric, particularly Stone Age cultures that have become extinct...
tool made by removing a flake
Lithic flake
In archaeology, a lithic flake is a "portion of rock removed from an objective piece by percussion or pressure," and may also be referred to as a chip or spall, or collectively as debitage. The objective piece, or the rock being reduced by the removal of flakes, is known as a core. Once the proper...
, known, when using this method, as a tranchet flake
Tranchet flake
In archaeology, a tranchet flake is a characteristic type of flake removed by a flintknapper during lithic reduction.It involves removing a flake parallel to the final intended cutting edge of the tool which creates a single straight edge as wide as the tool itself...
, parallel to the final intended cutting edge of the tool which creates a single straight edge as wide as the tool itself. It is found in some Acheulean
Acheulean
Acheulean is the name given to an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture associated with early humans during the Lower Palaeolithic era across Africa and much of West Asia, South Asia and Europe. Acheulean tools are typically found with Homo erectus remains...
assemblages as well as in Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
flaked stone industries.