Lunate

Lunate is a term meaning crescent or moon-shaped. In the specialized terminology of lithic reduction, a lunate flake is a small, crescent-shaped flake removed from a stone tool during the process of pressure flaking.

In the Natufian period, a lunate was a small crescent-shaped stone tool that was sometimes used to harvest grasses.

In archaeology a lunate is a small stone artifact, that has a blunt straight edge and a sharpened crescent shaped back. The word originates from the Latin word lunatus which means to bend like a crescent, and from luna meaning moon in Latin.

A lunate object can be typically used as a decorative piece or as a stone tool.

Israeli lunate

In the earlier findings of Epipaleolithic lunate in the Natufian, Harifian, and Negev Kebaran periods in Israel they were roughly 10–40 mm long and were formed on small blades or bladelets. While the later findings Natufian and Harifian range of lengths varied then from 9–17 mm. In the later period the lunate resulted in 3 specific types.