In archaeology, a hammerstone is a hard cobble used to strike lithic flakes off a lump of tool stone during the process of lithic reduction. Often, a hammerstone is made of a material such as limestone or quartzite, is often ovoid in shape (to better fit the human hand), and develops telltale battering marks on one or both ends. Hammerstones are often found in archaeological recovery in association with other stone tool artifacts, debitage and/or objects of the hammer such as ore. This technology was of major importance to prehistoric cultures before the age of metalworking; today, however, the use of hammerstones is mostly limited to flintknappers and others who wish to develop a better understanding of how stone tools were made.

An example of a cobble used as a hammerstone.

World regions

The hammerstone is a rather universal stone tool which appeared early in most regions of the world including Europe, India and North America.