Burin

In lithic reduction, a burin is a special type of lithic flake with a chisel-like edge which may have been used for engraving or carving wood or bone. Burins exhibit a feature called a burin spall, in which a small flake is struck obliquely from the edge of the burin flake in order to form the graving edge. Burin usage is diagnostic of Upper Palaeolithic cultures in Europe, but has also been identified in North American cultural assemblages.

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In modern usage, a burin is also a steel cutting tool used by engravers.

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Lithic reduction: Lithic reduction involves the use of a hard hammer percussor, such as a hammerstone, a soft hammer fabricator (made of wood, bone or antler), or a wood or antler punch to detach lithic flakes from a lump of tool stone called a lithic core. As flakes are detached in sequence, the original mass of sto...

Lithic flake: In archaeology, a lithic flake is a thin, sharp fragment of stone that results from the process of lithic reduction. Once the proper tool stone has been selected, a fabricator is used to direct a sharp blow to the surface of the stone. The energy of this blow propagates through the material, produci...

Chisel: A chisel is a tool for carving and/or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal. A chisel, typically made of hardened or tempered steel, or more rarely, common steel, consists of a sharpened end (called the blade) attached to a straight handle. The handle and blade of some types of chis...