Books by Patrick Schmidt

This book looks at the transformations that intentional heat treatment causes in silica rocks when used as lithic raw material. Heat treatment, known from the Middle Stone Age on, is an important step in the evolution of techniques, and the way humans perceived the materials available to them. The study shows an experimental approach, not only to understanding what happens, but also to understanding the range of temperatures and heating speeds at which these transformations take place. The results yield quantitative data that help with the recognition of techniques and procedures that silica rocks, such as flint and other cherts, were subjected to in heat-treated processes.