Microlith

Microliths are small prehistoric stone tools, typically manufactured from flint or chert, and usually measuring around one centimetre in length and half a centimetre in width. They appeared in human toolkits from approximately 60,000 years ago and are recorded across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Despite their diminutive size, microliths played an important role in prehistoric technology, especially in the construction of composite hunting weapons such as spears, arrows, and harpoons. Their distinctive forms and manufacturing techniques make them valuable chronological markers in archaeological contexts.

Background and Technological Context

Microliths were usually produced from small blades or microblades struck from carefully prepared cores. Their defining feature is the abrupt or truncated retouch applied to shape the tiny blade fragments. This retouching often created a characteristic waste product known as a microburin, which is a key indicator that microlith production was taking place on a site.
Archaeologists distinguish two main families of microliths: laminar microliths, which are slightly larger and appear from the end of the Upper Palaeolithic into the Epipalaeolithic, and geometric microliths, which are characteristic of the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. These groups differ not only in shape but also in their manufacturing techniques and cultural associations.
Microlithic technology flourished particularly among hunter-gatherer communities. The shift from large stone implements to small composite tools allowed tool users to replace damaged cutting edges quickly without producing new handles or shafts. The hafts themselves, often made from wood or bone and more labour-intensive to fashion, could be fitted repeatedly with fresh microliths secured by resin, sinew, or fibre bindings. Archaeological finds from regions such as Sweden, Denmark, and England preserve remnants of these composite arrangements.

Laminar Microliths

Laminar microliths date from at least the Gravettian period of the Upper Palaeolithic and remain present through the Mesolithic and Neolithic. They were typically made from flint flakes produced either through percussion or, more rarely, through pressure flaking. Although pressure flaking can yield highly uniform microliths, it was complex and not universally adopted.
Three primary forms of laminar microliths are recognised:
Truncated bladesThese microliths are defined by a truncation placed at various angles—oblique, square, or double—and may be concave or convex. They appear throughout the Upper Palaeolithic traditions and into the Neolithic.
Raclette scrapersThese tools are blades or flakes retouched around their edges until they assume a semicircular or irregular shape. Their occurrence throughout the prehistoric sequence makes them unreliable as cultural indicators, but they remain distinctive artefacts.
Backed edge bladeletsIn these pieces, one edge is blunted through abrupt retouch. They played an important role as intermediate forms from which other microlithic tool types could be created. Subtypes include the finely retouched Dufour bladelets characteristic of the Aurignacian, Solutrean backed bladelets, and irregularly backed Ouchtata bladelets, found in Epipalaeolithic Saharan contexts. Additional regional forms include the Ibero-Maurusian bladelets of North Africa and the Montbani bladelets from Italy.

Microlithic Points

A wide variety of pointed microliths are recognised across prehistoric Europe, the Near East, and beyond. These microliths often served as projectile components and vary greatly by region.
Some notable examples include:

• Châtelperronian points, transitional forms from the early Upper Palaeolithic
• Microgravettes, small versions of Gravette points
• Azilian points, linking Magdalenian and later Epipalaeolithic technology
• Ahrensburgian points, distinctive for their oblique truncation and possible tang
• Emireh and El-Wad points, important cultural markers in the Levant
• Khiamian points, easily recognised by their basal notches
• Adelaide points, Australian microliths with trapezoidal forms achieved through truncation

Although laminar microliths can take triangular, trapezoidal, or lunate shapes, they differ from geometric microliths in manufacturing technique. Laminar pieces were shaped primarily through linear retouch, whereas geometric microliths were produced using the specialised microburin technique.

Geometric Microliths

Geometric microliths are among the most recognisable prehistoric artefacts. These small tools were shaped into triangular, trapezoidal, or lunate (half-moon) forms. They appear earliest in Northwest Africa, such as in the Iberomaurusian culture, and later spread into Europe during the Magdalenian, becoming especially common during the Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic periods.
Geometric microliths were typically produced using the microburin technique, a method that creates a snapped microblade fragment. The fracture produces the characteristic microburin waste piece. Although some early researchers proposed that microburins had practical uses, they are now identified primarily as manufacturing by-products.
These geometric forms continued into the Copper Age and Bronze Age, where they occasionally coexisted with leaf-shaped and early metal arrowheads.

Microburin Technique

All known geometric microliths share an underlying production method. They were made by snapping blades or microblades along a controlled fracture that produced a sharp edge suitable for further retouch. The microburin technique allowed knappers to produce standardised shapes ideal for use in composite tools. The resulting microliths could be slotted into grooves within wooden or bone shafts and secured with resin, forming reliable cutting or piercing edges.

Functions and Archaeological Importance

Microliths were primarily used to arm hunting weapons. Spears and harpoons might include six to eighteen microliths arranged along their length, while arrows usually required only one or two. Their small size, ease of replacement, and compatibility with composite technology made them highly effective.
Beyond their functional role, microliths serve as important cultural and chronological markers. Their shapes and manufacturing techniques allow archaeologists to identify specific prehistoric periods and regional traditions. The shift from laminar to geometric microliths reflects broader changes in subsistence, mobility, and technological practice, particularly during the transition from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Mesolithic.
Microlith production declined in many regions following the spread of agriculture after around 8000 BCE, although it persisted among societies that retained strong hunting traditions. Throughout prehistory, the innovation of microlithic technology illustrates adaptability, resourcefulness, and the refinement of tool-making skills across diverse landscapes and cultures.