Readers of my blog will know that on some occasions I have suggested that a form of paint or pigment has been used to form figurative impressions on flint artifacts. It's clear that ochre and tar were used in many of my finds, but what has caused the grey areas that I also suggest have been painted? Some may think they are just random inclusions in the flint, but in this flint tool find it can be seen that these gray markings are not random at all.
The small ring shapes on this flint tool are conjoined to produce lines and patterns of rings, this was probably achieved by dipping a piece of grass in pigment and applying it to the surface of the flint. The pigment has over time petrified into the calcite patina.
