Knowra Ground stone Ground stone Ground stone is stone shaped or finished by pecking, grinding, or polishing rather than primarily by flaking. The term also describes the tools and artifacts made through these techniques.
Percussion flaking : Stone is shaped by striking it to detach flakes from a core or tool. Flaking removes flakes by impact, unlike the abrasion that defines ground-stone finishing.
Milling stone : A stationary stone surface used with a handstone to crush or grind materials. Milling stones are widespread ground-stone tools for processing seeds and other substances.
Milling : The mechanical process of grinding grain or other material into smaller particles. Ground-stone querns and milling stones made this work possible before powered mills.
Lower Paleolithic : The earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic, associated with early stone-tool industries. Some of the earliest known ground-stone implements come from this distant period.
Agriculture : The cultivation of plants and raising of animals for human use. Grinding equipment supported the processing of crops as farming expanded.
Pecking (lithic technology) : Stone is shaped by repeated blows that pit and gradually remove its surface. Pecking roughens and lowers surfaces before finer grinding or polishing.
Handstone : A handheld stone used to grind, crush, or abrade material against another surface. Handstones work against milling stones to process plant foods and other materials.
Plant food processing : The preparation of edible plants through activities such as grinding, pounding, and cooking. Ground-stone implements processed seeds, nuts, roots, and other plant foods.
Acheulean : A Lower Paleolithic stone-tool tradition known especially for bifacial handaxes. Acheulean assemblages foreground flaking, clarifying the distinct role of ground-stone methods.
Food surplus : Food produced or stored beyond immediate consumption needs. Grinding and milling helped convert harvests into storable, transportable foods.
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