Scraper, worked flint fragments

This selection of flint scrapers from the Hornel Trust are objects which has evidence of having been worked intensely around their edges. Neolithic flintworkers used more refined techniques than their mesolithic predecessors, often working over the surface of a blade to produce exactly the shape required for a particular purpose.   Archaeologists examine the blades of tools like these under powerful microscope they can tell how they were used by the type of wear they see. If the edge of the blade has become smooth is has probably been used to work something soft, such as leather. If the edge has been used to scrape a harder surface such as bone or wood, it will have tiny chips along it.