50 Stone Age Finds: From the Portable Antiquities Scheme

Flint and stone finds hold a unique place in the archaeological record as they represent all that survives from most of the human past. The Stone Age did not end with the introduction of metals and some of the finest lithic objects date from the Bronze Age and the use of flint and stone has continued into recent times. These items can have a strange, gem-like quality - 500,000-year-old flint hand axes, recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme, show a symmetry and grace that we can still admire today. Great skill and effort went into making flint and stone objects and how they were produced is examined here. Humanly worked flints are surprisingly common and, in fact, they are found everywhere. This book provides guidance on what to look for and how to recognise worked flint. It shows what can be commonly found along with superb objects recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme. Flint and stone implements are best seen in context and supporting commentary and images show something of the cultures that produced this material and how we came to discover them.