Flint: Did you mean...?

The process of determining ethnicity is a problematic venture, even more so when interpreted through the archaeological record. Despite this issue, evidence, such as the four-room house, has been preserved that can be interpreted to represent...

The Battle of Germantown (4 October 1777) was a major battle of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) in which General George Washington launched an unsuccessful assault on the British army garrisoned in Germantown, Pennsylvania. After...

The Unseen Helpers is a Cherokee tale on the importance of kindness. Generosity is a central cultural value of the Cherokee nation, as it is with Native American nations generally, and is regarded as especially praiseworthy when the giver...

The Little Girl and the Ghost is a legend of the Cheyenne nation concerning a young girl abducted by a spirit after she is cast out by her mother. The story explores many themes common in Cheyenne literature, including the importance of following...

White Plume is a hero tale of the Sioux nation featuring the supernatural trickster figure Unktomi (Iktomi) who serves as a catalyst for transformation, whether for good or ill. In this story, Unktomi is the villain whereas in others, such...

An Aztec ceremonial knife with a cedarwood handle and flint blade. The figure of the handle is covered in turquoise and shell mosiac and represents an Aztec Eagle knight. 1400-1521 CE. (British Museum, London)

An example of a 17th-century flintlock firearm mechanism. A piece of flint was held in the vice which the trigger pulled down to strike a metal bar which created a spark to ignite the priming powder which then set off the main charge of gunpowder...

A Levallois point flint tool from the Mousterian lithic industry, made by Neanderthals. It was discovered in Beuzeville, France and is on display at the museum of Toulouse, France.

A stretch of the Via Appia at Sant'Andrea, km 126. Here it is still possible to admire the original flint-stones, thanks to their restoration during the Bourbon age and now protected by the Natural Park Monti Aurunci Authority.

These two handaxes were made from flint by Homo erectus around 130,000 BCE. They were both found in Switzerland: The ochre one was found in Pratteln, Canton Basel-Land, while the white one was found in Schlieren, Canton Zurich. On display...