British Paleolithic Large Flint Core, Twydall, Kent

Western Europe, Britain, England, Paleolithic. A large flint core from which a series of flakes has been struck. Wide, shallow removal scars cross the face in overlapping waves, and a band of chalky cortex still covers one flank, showing the outer skin of the original nodule. The worked surfaces have a milky gray and bluish patina with warm honey-tan areas, and the faint ripples of each conchoidal fracture are still visible where the light falls. A core like this was the source of the stone. The knapper chose striking platforms and took off flakes one after another, using them as blanks for cutting, scraping, and other tasks. The order of the scars shows the decisions the knapper made, one strike at a time. Flint from the Upper Chalk of southeast England was among the best stone available to early toolmakers in northern Europe. Its fine, even texture breaks predictably, so a skilled hand could control the size and shape of each flake. The Medway valley and nearby Thames gravels of north Kent are among the most productive Paleolithic landscapes in Britain. Their river terraces have yielded large numbers of cores, flakes, and handaxes, many of them collected by local antiquarians in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Item # 205708

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