This large metavolcanic flake is from Hat Head on the north coast of New South Wales in the traditional country of the Dunghutti People.  The initiation features on this flake are unusually large.  It may be a byproduct of stone axe manufacture, and it likely dates to the Holocene.

---

The conchoidal initiation features on this flake are well-defined and unusually large; refer to the annotations on the model.  The umbo measures nearly 20 mm across at the base, indicating an exceptionally large contact area between the hammerstone and the core.  The hackles are also very large and prominent.  Despite evidence for the use of considerable force in detaching this flake, it terminated in a hinge.  The nature of the cortical surface on the side of the flake suggests that the stone derived from a bedrock source.  Possible use-wear is present along one margin.

The artefact is part of the Archaeology and Palaeoanthropology teaching collection, University of New England.

See the annotations for technological details about this stone tool.