Editing Striking platform

{{short description|Surface on a lithic flake on which the detachment blow falls}}

In the [[archaeological]] study of [[lithic reduction]], the '''striking platform''' is the surface on the proximal portion of a [[lithic flake]] on which the detachment blow falls;<ref>Kooyman, Brian Patrick. ''Understanding Stone Tools and Archaeological Sites''. University of Calgary Press, 2000, p. 12.</ref> this may be natural or prepared. Types of striking platforms include: 

* Cortex, which consists of an area of cortex used as a platform during initial reduction; 
* Single-faceted, consisting of a flat platform at right angles to the dorsal surface of the flake and most often associated with [[conchoidal fracture]]s; 
* Double-faceted, a variety of multifaceted, prepared platform, also characteristically flat and associated with conchoidal fractures; 
* Multifaceted, with three or more facets to the platform; 
* Lipped, a platform type resulting from soft hammer biface reduction; and 
* Crushed, which occurs when the platform was crushed beyond easy recognition by the detachment blow.

==Notes==
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{{Prehistoric technology}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Striking Platform}}
[[Category:Lithics]]