Burin (lithic flake)

Inarchaeologyand the field oflithic reduction,aburin/ˈbjuːrɪn/(from theFrenchburin,meaning "coldchisel"or modern engravingburin) is a type of stone tool, a handheldlithic flakewith achisel-like edge whichprehistorichumans used for carving or finishing wood or bone tools or weapons, and sometimes forengravingimages.

In archaeology, burin use is often associated with "burinspalls",which are a form ofdebitagecreated when toolmakers strike a small flake obliquely from the edge of the burin flake in order to form the graving edge.^[1]

Documented use

Carinated "burin" /microblade core with multiple facets

Standardized burin usage is typical of theMiddle PaleolithicandUpper Palaeolithic culturesinEurope,^[2]butarchaeologistshave also identified them inNorth Americancultural assemblages, and in his bookEarly Man in China,Jia Lanpo of Beijing University lists dihedral burins and burins for truncation among artifacts uncovered along the banks of the Liyigon river nearXujiayao.

Burins can also be associated with compound microblade projectile technology, found with microblade cores and/or microblades. In these cases, their purpose is interpreted as both a rapid retouch and hafting preparation strategy for blade-based edge tools and bifaces and as a class of dedicated flake or blade-based tools used to insert microblades and other microliths into organic armatures.

Dihedral burin on a blade

An example of a type of burin diagnostic of the archaeologicalstratumwhere they are found is the"Noailles" burin,named for its original find-site, theGrotte de Noailles,in the commune ofBrive-la-Gaillarde,Corrèze, in southwestern France.^[3]It consists of a small multiple burin characteristic of the Upper Paleolithic cultural stage called theGravettian,ca. 28–23,000 BC; these flake tools have been restruck and refined to give several chisellike edges and a blunt, grippable rear edge.

One type of burin is called the "ordinary burin", which occurs when a burin facet is backed against another burin facet.^[4]

References

^"burin spall".Archaeology Wordsmith
^Chauhan, Parth; Lycett, Stephen (2010).New perspectives on old stones: analytical approaches to paleolithic technologies.New York: Springer. p. 65.ISBN 978-1441968616.
^Kipfer, Barbara Ann. "Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology". Springer Science & Business Media, 29 Jun 2013
^Burkitt, M. C.(1928).South Africa's Past in Stone and Paint.Cambridge University Press.p. 82.ISBN 9781107641334.Retrieved2017-08-21.

External links

Media related toStone burinsat Wikimedia Commons

[1] "burin spall".Archaeology Wordsmith

[2] Chauhan, Parth; Lycett, Stephen (2010).New perspectives on old stones: analytical approaches to paleolithic technologies.New York: Springer. p. 65.ISBN 978-1441968616.

[3] Kipfer, Barbara Ann. "Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology". Springer Science & Business Media, 29 Jun 2013

[4] Burkitt, M. C.(1928).South Africa's Past in Stone and Paint.Cambridge University Press.p. 82.ISBN 9781107641334.Retrieved2017-08-21.

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