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The study details a pilot experiment in which samples of “chocolate’”flint from four procurement sites in Poland and chert from the United States were characterized spectrally and distinguished using reflectance spectroscopy and multivariate statistics. The characterization of ‘chocolate’ flint and the successful differentiation of sources has been, and continues to be, a major research focus for understanding prehistoric consumption, use, and distribution of this favored lithic resource. Reflectance spectroscopy potentially provides an analytical methodology for identifying artefact source by successfully distinguishing spatially and compositionally unique deposits. Initial results from the study show that “chocolate” flint can be distinguished from other silicite tool stone resources, regional lookalike materials, and by individual deposit. Future studies will test a more robust sample size of ‘chocolate’ flints and conduct experiments on surface weathering

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Researches on prehistoric flint mines are currently widely developing, as they allow a deep insight into the past economy, early industry, and the network of trading routes and inter-regional contacts. In the territory of Poland and in general, Central Europe, one of the most important flint raw materials was an Upper Jurassic chert, so-called chocolate flint. In this paper are presented preliminary results of the research of chocolate flint mine in Poręba Dzierżna, site 24 (Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, southern Poland). The outcrop, and anthropogenic relief indicating the activity of prehistoric miners, were discovered in 2013. Recently excavations undertaken on the site recorded the remains of mining shafts, spoil heaps, and rich traces of workshops. The deposits of chocolate flint were previously known only in the Holy Cross Mountains, 130 km to the NE. The research undertaken has therefore a significant impact on the existing interpretations related to the extraction, use, and distribution of chocolate flint by prehistoric communities in Central Europe.