Flakes (eclates) were debitage products from a stone core. They were wide and irregular in shape and size when the removal from the core was abrupt. But when the angle or surface of percussion was selected, the flakes were more regular in shape and size and could be used as tools with or without further working.

Broad flakes were used as scrapers to process leather, stone and wood while pointed flakes were used for hunting. Long flakes, known as blades, were used for cutting food (meat, fruits).

The production of flakes was recorded in the Middle Palaeolithic (100,000-35,000 BP) and is directly related to the technique of core preparation by flaking, known as the technique Levallois. This impressive stone-working technique was an intellectual accomplishment of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis who prepared cores (spherical, tortoise, prismatic), that could then be made into scrapers, points and blades.

Exceptional stone industries of the Middle Palaeolithic in Greece have been unearthed in recent excavations at Theopetra (Kalambaka), on Alonnisos (northern Sporades) and at the site "Lakonis" in Mani.