In archaeology, a prismatic blade is a long, narrow, specialized lithic flake with parallel margins. Prismatic blades are removed from polyhedral blade cores through pressure reduction. This process results in a very standardized finished tool and waste assemblage. While the prismatic blade industry is most often associated with obsidian (especially in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica), it is not limited to that material; chert, flint, and chalcedony blades are not uncommon.
Read more about Prismatic Blade: Morphology, Production
Famous quotes containing the words prismatic and/or blade:
“Then a small rainbow like a trellis gate,
A very small moon-made prismatic bow,
Stood closely over us through which to go.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“During a walk or in a book or in the middle of an embrace, suddenly I awake to a stark amazement at everything. The bare fact of existence paralyzes me... To be alive is so incredible that all I can do is to lie still and merely breathe—like an infant on its back in a cot. It is impossible to be interested in anything in particular while overhead the sun shines or underneath my feet grows a single blade of grass.”
—W.N.P. Barbellion (1889–1919)