In archaeology, a racloir, also known as ''racloirs sur talon'' (French for scraper on the platform), is a certain type 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 ...

tool made by prehistoric peoples. Raedera Atapuerca (TG11)

It is a type of side scraper distinctive of

Mousterian The Mousterian (or Mode III) is an archaeological industry of stone tools, associated primarily with the Neanderthals in Europe, and to the earliest anatomically modern humans in North Africa and West Asia. The Mousterian largely defines the l ...

assemblages. It is created from a flint

flake Flake or Flakes may refer to: People * Floyd H. Flake (born 1945), A.M.E. minister, university administrator, former U.S. representative * Jeff Flake (born 1962), American politician * Christian "Flake" Lorenz, German musician and member of th ...

and looks like a large

scraper Scrape, scraper or scraping may refer to: Biology and medicine * Abrasion (medical), a type of injury * Scraper (biology), grazer-scraper, a water animal that feeds on stones and other substrates by grazing algae, microorganism and other matter ...

. As well as being used for scraping hides and bark, it may also have been used as a knife. Racloirs are most associated with the

Neanderthal Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an Extinction, extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ag ...

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

. These racloirs are retouched along the ridge between the striking platform and the dorsal face. They have shaped edges and are modified by abrupt flaking from the dorsal face.

References

* * * Archaeological artefact types Lithics Mousterian {{Europe-archaeology-stub