11 Facts About Flint

1.

Flint is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone.

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2.

Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fires.

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3.

Flint is one of the primary materials used to define the Stone Age.

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4.

Flint sometimes occurs in large flint fields in Jurassic or Cretaceous beds, for example, in Europe.

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5.

The flint from Flint Ridge is found in many hues like red, green, pink, blue, white and gray, with the color variations caused by minute impurities of iron compounds.

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6.

Flint can be coloured: sandy brown, medium to dark gray, black, reddish brown or an off-white grey.

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7.

Flint was used in the manufacture of tools during the Stone Age as it splits into thin, sharp splinters called flakes or blades when struck by another hard object .

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8.

Flint mining is attested since the Paleolithic, but became more common since the Neolithic .

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9.

Flint was used in the construction of many churches, houses, and other buildings, for example, the large stronghold of Framlingham Castle.

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10.

Flint pebbles are used as the media in ball mills to grind glazes and other raw materials for the ceramics industry.

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11.

Flint bracelets were known in Ancient Egypt, and several examples have been found.

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