A retouched flake tool with a thick working edge; a flake tool that has been sharpened on one edge and left blunt on other edges to allow grasping, probably used to scrape (dress) animal hides and for working hard materials. It is called a side scraper (racloir) because its sharpened edge is the long side. Side scrapers are typical of the Middle Palaeolithic while end scrapers are typical of the later Palaeolithic.