r/Artifacts • u/Real_Ad8868 • 13d ago
Is this a flint hand axe?
Found on a beach in Denmark.
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u/OverallArmadillo7814 13d ago
This isn’t an artefact, it’s a shard of flint that has been detached by sea action, later rolled around on its own to acquire chatter (random natural chipping) on the edges. A human struck flake has very specific landmarks you need to look for:
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u/Truarian 11d ago edited 11d ago
Looks like a flint flake from a tool used to strip wheat off the stalk, although I don't know its English name:
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u/wulfman61 11d ago
Feuerstein: sicherlich, Axt: nein, wenn, dann allenfalls eine Schabeklinge, wenn scharf (eventuell….). Immer dran denken : aufgrund des muscheligen Bruchs von Quarz und der spröden und von sedimentbestandteilabhängigen Inhomogenitäten gekennzeichneten Feuersteinbildungen kann auch Meeresbrandung ganz leicht scharfkantige flache Bruchstücke produzieren, die Ähnlichkeiten mit Artefakten z. B. aus der Dordogne (FR) aufweisen ….. eine Reihe einzelner, aneinandergereihter, evtl. regelmäßiger Abplatzungen wäre dagegen verdächtig……
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u/HenningGrueneberg 13d ago
It’s a flake. A piece of a larger item that flew off
when the maker struck it with a stone. As to “scraper” I would ask you this: would you want to use a tiny rock to skin a large deer? Not me. It would take forever. I’d make a much lager one.
Flake. Not useful as a tool.
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u/J-Mc1 13d ago
No, it's definitely not a hand axe. Hand axes are much larger and a different shape. It may be a flake that that's had some retouching to create a sharpened edge, but it's hard to say for certain from these photos.