Prismatic blade

A long, narrow stone flake with a roughly prismatic cross-section, struck or pressed from a prepared core. Its regular shape comes from controlling the core’s platform and ridges.

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Lithic reduction: The process of shaping stone by removing flakes to make tools. Prismatic blades are products of a structured sequence of core shaping and removal.
Lithic flake: A piece of stone detached from a larger mass during knapping. A prismatic blade is a specialized, elongated kind of detached flake.
End scraper: A stone tool with a steep working edge, commonly used to scrape hides or other materials. Prismatic blades could be retouched into specialized scraping tools.
Upper Paleolithic: The later phase of the Paleolithic in Eurasia, marked by diverse technologies and symbolic practices. Prismatic blade production became prominent in several Upper Paleolithic industries.
Levallois technique: A prepared-core method that produces flakes with predetermined shapes through carefully staged removals. Levallois emphasizes prepared flake forms, while prismatic blade systems pursue repeated elongated removals.
Blade core: A prepared stone mass from which elongated flakes are detached. Its ridges and striking platform guide the blade’s length and cross-section.
Blade (archaeology): An elongated stone flake whose length is at least twice its width. Prismatic blades belong to the broader archaeological category of blades.
Burins: A stone tool with a chisel-like edge made by removing a narrow spall. Blade blanks could be shaped into burins for working bone, antler, or wood.
Aurignacian: An Upper Paleolithic cultural tradition associated with early modern humans in Europe and western Asia. Aurignacian assemblages include blade-based stone technologies.
Crested blade: A blade removed along a prepared ridge to establish guiding ridges on a core. A crested blade helps initiate a sequence; it is not simply any regular prismatic blade.