The common division of Greek mosaics into pebble mosaics and tessellated mosaics does not do justice to the variety of techniques available in the Hellenistic period. Several other categories can be distinguished, which, although predominantly utilitarian, may also be used for decorative purposes. The most common form is the chip pavement, in use at least as early as the fourth century B.C.; plain pavements of this type are found at Olynthus alongside the pebble mosaics. Several mosaics composed of irregular fragments of stone show the introduction of ornamental and figured designs into the chip technique, and illustrate experiments in shaping the pieces artificially; however, the dating evidence is not adequate to establish this process as a separate chronological phase, or to clarify the relationship of these pavements to the later pebble mosaics.

Other mosaics show a mixture of pebbles and chips or tesserae in the same pavement. In the Triton mosaic at Olympia and one or two others, a few chips and shaped pieces are used for colors not available in pebbles, or to give greater precision to the forms, and may represent an intermediate stage in combining the two techniques; again, the chronological framework is far from clear. Other pavements of mixed technique show only a more sophisticated desire for contrasting textures. The chronological problems render the conclusions to be drawn largely negative. The techniques do not appear to evolve in an orderly sequence, and a technique by itself cannot be used as grounds for dating a pavement. There is no evidence that the tessellated technique is derived from that of the pebble mosaics; it seems plausible to suggest that it developed out of the chip pavements, but the present state of the evidence does not allow this to be established for certain.