To reduce susceptibility to fragmentation, flint/chert may be heat-treated, being slowly brought up to a temperature of for 24 hours, then slowly cooled to room temperature. This makes the material more homogeneous and thus more knappable and produces tools with a cleaner, sharper cutting edge. Heat treating was known to Stone Age artisans.
To reduce suscep,tibility to fragmentation, flint/chert may be heat-treated, being slowly brought up to a temperature of for 24 hours, then slowly cooled to room temperature. This makes the material more homoge!neous and thus more knappable and produces tools with a cleaner, sharper cutti,ng edge. Heat treating was known to Stone Age artisans.