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A Bann flake is a large, butt-trimmed, leaf-shaped "Bann flake"
in ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology'' They come in two forms: elongated or laminar forms less than 3.2 cm across, or wider leaf shapes having only very peripheral retouch at the butt.
A Bann flake is a large, butt-trimmed, leaf-shaped lithic blade
In archaeology, a blade is a type of stone tool created by striking a long narrow flake from a stone core. This process of reducing the stone and producing the blades is called lithic reduction. Archaeologists use this process of flintknapping to ...
of flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
or chert
Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a prec ...
, dating from the Late Mesolithic
The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...
period of prehistoric Ireland
The prehistory of Ireland has been pieced together from archaeological evidence, which has grown at an increasing rate over the last decades. It begins with the first evidence of permanent human residence in Ireland around 10,500 BC (although ...
, from around 4500 BC onwards. They are named after the river Bann
The River Bann (from ga, An Bhanna, meaning "the goddess"; Ulster-Scots: ''Bann Wattèr'') is one of the longest rivers in Northern Ireland, its length, Upper and Lower Bann combined, being 129 km (80 mi). However, the total lengt ...
in Northern Ireland where large numbers have been found. The term is rather variably defined, and the uses of the flakes probably varied considerably, with many being all-purpose tools, and perhaps weapons. Some were probably used as spear heads attached to wooden shafts, despite many being rather heavy for this.
They are part of the Bann culture assemblage. Peter Woodman of University College Cork
University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork.
The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...
defines them as large flakes without a significant tang
Tang or TANG most often refers to:
* Tang dynasty
* Tang (drink mix)
Tang or TANG may also refer to:
Chinese states and dynasties
* Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...
, with only light retouch.in ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology'' They come in two forms: elongated or laminar forms less than 3.2 cm across, or wider leaf shapes having only very peripheral retouch at the butt.
Notes
References
* Wallace, Patrick; Ó Floinn, Raghnall (eds). ''Treasures of the National Museum of Ireland: Irish Antiquities'', 2002, Gill & Macmillan, Dublin, {{DEFAULTSORT:Bann Flake Lithics Prehistoric Ireland Mesolithic Europe