"Scrapers ... are unifacially retouched tools with a steep,
wide-angled edge that is suitable for a number of tasks, including
scraping hides, planing wood or bone, and cutting like a knife"
Whittaker 1994., 27
Scrapers are the most common type of tool found from the Middle
Palaeolithic onwards. Any tool with scraper retouch on any edge,
or combination of edges is a scraper.
There are two main classes of scrapers:End scrapers and Side scrapers
Endscrapers
Scrapers that are made on the end of a flake or blade. The retouched
end may be the proximal end or the distal end, but the vast majority
of end scrapers are made on the distal end, as this does not require
the removal of the bulb of percussion.End scrapers are further
defined by the shape of the retouched end, being either concave,
straight or convex.
When an end scraper has been made on a flake that is wider than
it is long, it is sometimes referred to as a transverse scraper.
convex end scraper
end scraper which has a retouched end that is convex in form.
transverse scraper
An end scraper made on a flake that is wider than it is long.
indexStraight end scraper
An end scraper which has a retouched end that is straight in form.
If the tool blank is a blade, and the retouch is abrupt retouch
rather than scraper retouch it would be called a truncated blade.
straight end scraper on a flake
An end scraper which has a retouched end that is straight in form,
made on a blank that is a flake.
If the tool blank is a flake, and the retouch is abrupt retouch
rather than scraper retouch it would be called a truncated flake.
Also see Brézillon 1977,
122. on types of truncation
concave end scraper
end scraper which has a retouched end that is concave in form.
concave end scraper on a flake
An end scraper which has a retouched end that is straight in form,
made on a blank that is a flake.
Scrapers that are made on the side of a flake or blade. The
retouched side may be the left edge or the right edge, or even
on both in which case it would be called a double side scraper.Side
scrapers are further defined by the shape of the retouched edge,
being either concave, straight or convex.Side scrapers may be
made on blanks that are blades or flakes.
Notch
A notch is a side scraper with a short concavity retouched into
an edge.This may be achieved by a single blow.
Denticulate
A denticulate is a side scraper with a serrated edge. Extreme
denticulates are made up of a series of interconnecting notches.
