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Drawing of a flake The pieces of stone struck off a rock in the reduction sequence (flintknapping), each usually having a striking platform, bulb of percussion, and similar identifying features.

There are three main types of flakes: 

Primary flake

Primary: A flake that has substantial amounts of cortex on it and that was one of the first flakes removed from the core when the stone was initially broken open.

Secondary flake

Secondary: A flake that may have some cortex on its surface and that was removed during the rough shaping of a stone tool.

Tertiary flake

Tertiary: A flake that has no cortex on it and that was removed during the final shaping of a stone tool.