GROUND STONE
GROOVED STONE AXES
It will be seen by reference to page 252 that these are placed under
five classifications.
The grooved axe is as widely distributed throughout the United States as
the celt, and the form varies quite as much. Axes of the following
localities may be differentiated: New England, the South, the
Cliff-Dweller country, the Ohio Valley, the Wisconsin-Michigan region,
Pennsylvania. In all of these sections there are certain types of axes
not found elsewhere.
The first incentive to the native in making a grooved axe was to obtain
an implement of practical service, and which could be securely fastened
in the handle. That was his primary object. Otherwise he would not have
used grooved axes at all, but confined himself to celts, chisels, and
gouges.
Axes are of all sorts. There is the very rough chipped axe of slate, or
chert, or limestone which it is almost impossible to decide whether it
was a digging-tool, or something to be used in quarrying, or a defensive
tool, or for domestic purposes. Certainly, the very rough axe with dull
edges could not be made use of in felling trees, in making canoes, or
anything of that sort. The small light axes with sharp edges, such as
are common in various portions of the United States, were doubtless used
as hand-hatchets and carried on hunting or war expeditions, just as were
the polished stone hatchets referred to on a previous page. As to the
various forms of axes, I do not believe that form in a stone axe carries
the significance that form does in problematical stones, pipes, or
chipped implements. Axes are seldom, if ever, found in mounds or graves.
Celts do occasionally occur in burial-places. But axes, more than celts,
were utility tools, and do not, to my mind, carry any significance as
objects made use of in ceremonies. Naturally, the larger axes required
special care in lashing them to handles of hickory, or oak, or other
pliable woods. It is quite likely that small straight limbs were cut off
near a knot, an aperture hollowed-out in the knot, and the celt or other
object inserted. We know that the New England tribes made bowls of the
knots taken from trunks of maples, and that these bowls were firm and
lasted for a considerable length of time. It was a slow and laborious
process, the hollowing-out of these knots, but we are advised by early
writers that the Indian accomplished it. Clubs of hard wood, with a knot
at the end, are favored weapons among the aborigines all over the world,
and it is quite likely that in America ancient man made use of them and
inserted small celts.
[Illustration:
FIG. 248. (S. 1–1.) The ordinary grooved hand-hatchet shown here is
from the collection of J. J. Snyder, Frederick, Maryland. The edge
is moderately sharpened; the upper part shows the work of the stone
hammer. I present the specimen full size. There are thousands of
this form in the United States, and they are typical general utility
tools, and also served as weapons. The size is convenient, the
specimen is light.
]
In discussing celts, gouges, and adzes, I said almost nothing about the
material out of which these were manufactured. Fortunately, our friends
the geologists and mineralogists have devoted some time to this subject.
Professor George L. Collie, Dean of Beloit College and Curator of the
Logan Museum, prepared a paper which is published in the _Wisconsin
Archeologist_, June-September, 1908. The title of this is “Aboriginal
Discrimination in the Selection of Materials for Tools.” I reproduce
sections of it here, as it describes the various stones selected by
aboriginal man.
[Illustration:
FIG. 249. (S. 1–6.) In this figure I have shown five of the
Connecticut axes from A. E. Kilbourne’s collection. So far as type
is concerned these might have been found in Pennsylvania,
Connecticut, or eastern Canada, for they are typically New England.
The ones at the right and the left show scarcely any traces of
chipping, but the centre ones have been chipped and later ground and
polished. These are of Class “A,” the groove entirely encircling the
specimen, yet the groove on the surfaces is very slight, but
pronounced and deep at the edges.
]
I would call attention to Professor Collie’s able paper, because he
comments not only on these implements from the point of view of a
geologist, but also adds no little to our sum of archæological
knowledge:—
“Under this head it is my desire to discuss some evidences that the
American aborigine exercised deliberate choice when he picked out
materials for the manufacture of artifacts.
“Stone had to be shaped by some one or more of five processes as is well
known. These manual arts, as stated by Holmes, are as follows: (1)
Fracturing by splitting, breaking, flaking; (2) bruising by battering,
pecking, bushing; (3) abrading by grinding, rubbing, polishing; (4)
incising by cutting, piercing, drilling; (5) modeling by stamping or
hammering. These shaping arts called for different types of material in
several instances and this necessitated choice on the worker’s part at
the outset. He not only needed to know what kind of an artifact he was
to make, but which of the several processes he was to employ before he
finally settled upon the material he would use. Man learned by slow
degrees and by experience the nature of rock properties. He learned to
distinguish between different types of rocks much as a modern geologist
does in the field by taking account of two features, namely: (1) The
mineralogical composition; (2) the texture of the rock. I do not mean to
imply that early man was absolutely guided by the quality of the rock;
other factors entered into the choice, but rock character was always a
prominent factor.
[Illustration:
FIG. 250. (S. 1–6.) Illustrates 14 axes from the collection of J. A.
Rayner, Piqua, Ohio. These were all found in the Miami Valley about
Piqua. Five of them are of Class “A,” the others, Class “B.” They
are typical Ohio axes, for the most part large and heavy. Such, it
is not supposed, were carried any distance, but were used about the
camp or in the woods.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 251. (S. about 1–3.) It seems to me that not a few axes were made
from chipped or broken fragments of rock. Doubtless some were the
result of working down rejects or angular fragments. But most of
them are water-worn pebbles, slightly flat, and generally oval. The
axe owned by S. D. Mitchell, of Ripon, Wisconsin, and shown in this
figure, is a splendid example of the pebble grooved, pecked, and
ground to an edge. This implement is just as serviceable as the
highly polished axe. Moreover, the form is slightly adze-like. The
longer it was in use, the more even and polished would become the
surfaces.
Throughout New England and Pennsylvania there are many
axes which might be placed in the class of chipped objects; for a
chipped object may be an axe as well as something else. And for
that matter there are shell and bone arrow-heads, yet they are not
placed in the class, “chipped objects.”
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 252. (S. 1–3.); showing two broad, short axes from near Salem,
Massachusetts. The material is porphyry and diorite. Both of these
were originally much longer, became broken, and were worked down.
Peabody Museum, Salem, collection.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 253. (S. 1–6.) Two ordinary short axes and three long narrow axes
approaching the grooved gouge in form. At the top is a narrow
double-edged celt-like object. Collection of A. E. Kilbourne, East
Hartford, Connecticut.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 254. (S. 1–4.) Illustrating six axes from the collection of W. A.
Holmes of Chicago. Five are of the flat back and one with the groove
entirely surrounding the specimen. The ridges on either side of the
grooves are of varying prominence. These six axes are from Indiana,
Illinois, and Kentucky.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 255. (S. 1–3.) Two large axes from the collection of H. M. Braun,
East St. Louis, Illinois. The specimen to the left is of Classes “B”
and “C,” being both grooved and pointed. Similar large axes have
been found in Ohio, and one or two weighing as much as twenty pounds
are in the Smithsonian collection, and one of about sixteen pounds
in the collection of the Ohio State University.
]
“All artifacts are the resultant of an interaction between several
factors,—character of the rock, need of the worker, form of the blank
selected, skill of the worker. If the tool-maker was in a hurry for a
utensil he would be likely to choose material easier to work than
ordinarily would be the case,—material that he could shape hurriedly. If
he were not skilful he would spend time to look for a blank that was a
close approximation to the desired tool, that he might be spared the
necessity of shaping it with his unskilled fingers. This would often
mean the selection of poorer material than might have been the case
under different circumstances. Primitive man, as a recent writer has
pointed out, had to exercise more real mental acumen and sagacity, had
to be more agile and alert and bring into action more varied qualities
of mind and body in order to live, than the great mass of our present
population. He used his mind and his judgment in the selection of
materials, he weighed all of the pros and cons in the choice of
materials for artifacts, just as he did in all the concerns of life. A
prevailing notion that he picked up any old stray piece of rock that
came conveniently to his hand is a mistake; his choices were results of
purpose and intellectual effort. To illustrate my position, allow me to
select one type of tool, the grooved axe, and discuss the choice of
materials for that particular utensil. It must be borne in mind that
early man in Wisconsin rarely used quarried material for axes, he sought
rather for water-worn or ice-worn cobbles, and made the axe from these
partially shaped and polished forms. It must also be remembered that
there are three general classes of rocks, viz.: the igneous, clastic,
and the metamorphic. The igneous rocks are of two general types, the
coarser-grained intrusives, such as the granites, and the finer textured
extrusives like basalts and their close relatives the diabases, though
the latter is often quite coarsely crystalline.
[Illustration:
FIG. 256. (S. 1–4.) This illustrates nine grooved objects from the
collection of W. A. Holmes of Chicago. The one to the right, lower
row, grooved in the centre and either edge sharpened, is of Class
“D.” The upper row, second from the right, double-grooved, Class
“E.” In the lower row is a large grooved hammer. The two axes in the
upper row to the left are highly polished and show evidence of much
use.
]
“In selecting material for axes the aborigine employed both types of
igneous rocks.
“Clastic rocks are of two general types, those deposited in solution
from water and those deposited from mechanical suspension. Flint, chert,
etc., are examples of the former; sandstone, limestone, etc., are
instances of the latter. The aborigine rarely used this type of rock for
axes. The metamorphic rocks are made from the two preceding types by
heat and pressure. They have certain structural features, as a rule,
such as cleavage and fissility. There is a banded arrangement of the
material not due to deposition but to dynamic action; hence arises the
familiar banded structure of such metamorphic rocks as gneiss and
schist. This type of rock was used by early man for axes to some extent.
Nine tenths of the axes in a given collection are made of igneous rocks,
and the great bulk of the igneous rocks used are the fine textured
rocks, especially basalt and diabase. No rock is better suited for
pecking and polishing than the finer grained igneous rocks, nor on the
whole are any more resistant to fracture, none are tougher. These are
qualities of prime importance in axes. The very fact that so large a
percentage of axes are made of the best obtainable material is
significant of the fact that early man deliberately sought for certain
qualities and looked until he found them.
“It shows how truly he was a judge of rock composition and texture, of
the suitableness of any given rock for a given purpose. Let us consider
in more detail some of the features which he sought, or those which he
rejected. In selecting a rock for axe purposes, other things being
equal, he would take first of all a quartzless type. If it were a
question between granite, which contains quartz, and syenite, which has
little, he would almost invariably select the latter. You very rarely
see an axe made of quartz-bearing rock in this region. The axe-maker was
aware apparently of the hardness of the mineral, of the difficulty with
which it was worked, and he naturally avoided rocks that contained it in
abundance when seeking axe material. He recognized the mineral, because
in rocks which have such similarities as syenite and granite he chose
the former, that is, he did not depend upon color or texture alone to
guide him, but he must have looked for that glassy mineral that we call
quartz.
[Illustration:
FIG. 257. _(S. about 1–4.)_
_Grooved stone axes of various types. Localities: Missouri, Illinois,
Kentucky. F. P. Graves’s collection, Doe Run, Missouri._
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 258. (S. 1–2.), from the Phillips Academy collection, indicates
the infinite variety of axes. These may be classed under “A,” “B,”
and “C,” and yet each possesses an individuality of its own.
Particular attention is called to the two lower specimens, which are
beautiful examples of axes in stone.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 259. (S. 1–3.) Grooved axe, long slender type. C. D. Romig’s
collection—Audenried, Pennsylvania. In this specimen the groove is
slightly diagonal, a peculiarity noted in a number of instances in
Pennsylvania and Wisconsin axes.
]
“Though he used quartz abundantly for other purposes we do not find him
selecting the massive forms of that mineral for axes except
occasionally. Then again the axe-maker selects rocks that are relatively
free from mica. Rocks rich in that mineral are used for pendants and
ceremonials, but not for axes or other tools that have to undergo hard
usage. Micaceous rocks flake readily, and they also show a marked
tendency to disintegration through hydration. Here again the aborigine
recognized a mineral which contributed undesirable qualities to a rock
and he rejected it. Again he refrained from using coarse-grained types
of rocks, as a rule. He chose rather those of fine and even texture. The
only common exception in Wisconsin is the employment of feldspar
porphyry where the porphyritic crystals are sometimes of fair size. The
crystals in coarse-grained rocks have coarse structural planes. They
tend to fracture along such planes readily, and fragments will break out
from the parent mass and mar if not ruin the tool. Experience taught
early man the inefficiency of such materials and his judgment, of which
we are speaking, kept him from wasting his time in experimenting with
them.
[Illustration:
FIG. 260. (S. 1–4.) An illustration which presents two axes from the
collection of A. E. Marks, Yarmouth, Maine. The one to the left has
the same sloping groove noted in Fig. 259. This form of groove is
intentional.
]
“Again the aborigine avoided the use of rocks that contain gneissic and
schistose structures. Rocks that contain well developed planes of any
sort are obviously unfit for axes, as they tend to split along these
structural planes and become unfitted for use; hence, metamorphic rocks
are not useful for axes and are not commonly employed save the
greenstone, a metamorphosed igneous rock which was used quite
extensively by axe-makers along the shore of Lake Michigan, especially
in the neighborhood of Manitowoc and Sheboygan. Greenstone possesses a
fine texture. It is hard and tough and forms an ideal material in many
respects, but it has this one drawback, it does contain a great many
structural planes, and the axe sooner or later comes to grief. How
rarely a greenstone axe is well finished, the aborigine knew all too
well that in some unexpected hour it would break. If ninety per cent of
our Wisconsin axes are made of igneous rocks, about eight per cent
perhaps are made of metamorphic rocks, while the remaining two per cent
are formed from sedimentary rocks of various types, chiefly sandstone
and limestone. The latter were not used if any better material were at
hand, and axes made of this material are generally found in the
southwest portion of the state in the Driftless region, where better
material was and is scarce, and where it was often necessary to use the
local limestone or sandstone. Clastic rocks lack the cohesion and
hardness that is desirable in axes; they break easily, become dull very
readily and need constant attention. Aborigines did not restrict
themselves to this somewhat limited choice of materials from volition.
Wherever opportunity afforded he selected unusual types of rock and thus
showed his desire for variety and wide range of materials. This is shown
by his employment of jadeite, hematite, actinolite, etc., wherever they
were obtainable. It is noticeable that in this country, the axe-maker
sought a type of material that could be pecked and polished. He did not
use flaking material very abundantly, but just the reverse seems to be
true in Europe. This may be due partly to the fact that a better grade
of flint is found in Europe than here, and it is obtainable much more
readily in the soft chalk than in limestone, or it may be due to an
entirely different trend in culture. In contrast to the selection of
materials for axes, we find that the large hammers or bone crushers,
etc., were made of a greater diversity of materials, in which
quartz-bearing rocks are not infrequent. The aim seemed to be to select
a cobble as near to the desired shape as possible without much reference
to material. Comparatively little work needed to be done upon these
types beyond pecking a groove. On the other hand, in pestles and
mortars, we find that tough, fine-grained, quartzless rocks of igneous
origin are employed, as a rule, though the use of fine limestones is not
unusual. Here again there seems to be an avoidance of quartz-bearing
rocks, possibly because they disliked the coarse grit which would
inevitably arise when such rocks were employed.
[Illustration:
FIG. 261. (S. 1–3.) These three axes are in the Museum of the
Historical Department of Iowa. They are highly polished, with sharp
edges, and the two to the right shaped somewhat like tomahawks.
Inspection of these figures will acquaint readers with the fact that
Iowa axes, in some instances, may be distinguished from those of
other sections of the country.
]
“What has been said regarding the axe illustrative of aboriginal
judgment and knowledge might be repeated for each type of artifact. In
each case we should find that the worker had particular reasons why he
selected material for a certain artifact, and that these reasons were
founded in an understanding of the mineralogical and structural
differences in rocks. If we study ornaments and ceremonial stones, we
shall see that ordinarily he selected a soft ornamental rock, especially
the banded slates, but if he chose to use igneous rocks he rarely
employed the types used for axes, but ordinarily the handsome porphyries
which made showy and attractive objects. If he wished material for
net-weights or sinkers for lines or weights for spears, he took the
easily worked and abundant sandstones and limestones, which he rejected
for other and harder usage.”
On writing Professor Harlan I. Smith of the American Museum of Natural
History, New York, regarding axes of the Columbia Valley, British
Columbia, Alaska, and the Northwest, generally, Professor Smith replied
and quoted from the data collected by the Jesup North Pacific
Expedition, part vi of vol. vi of the Memoirs.
[Illustration:
FIG. 262. (S. 1–1.)
]
Mr. Daniel Ashworth spent several years in the far Northwest, near Yale,
British Columbia. While there he made a collection of stone implements
and among them a grooved axe. Professor Smith writes:
[Illustration:
FIG. 263. (S. 1–4.) This shows two axes of Class “C,” the one to the
right being adze-like in character, although I have included it with
the axes, it being grooved. These were found near Ipswich,
Massachusetts. The specimen to the left has straight sides, a keen
edge, and is splendidly worked out. Peabody Museum, Salem.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 263. _A._ (S. 1–5.)
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 264. (S. 2–3.) Grooved stone axe, from near Portsmouth, Ohio. W.
K. Moorehead collection, Ohio State University Museum.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 265. (S. 2–3.) Grooved stone axe, from Miami Valley, Ohio. W. K.
Moorehead collection, Ohio State University Museum.
]
“A grooved axe was purchased from an Indian at or near Yale, who showed
him how the people formerly hafted such objects in a split stick,
fastening the axe in place with withes. The poll is hemispherical; the
cutting edge has been sharpened about equally from both sides, and the
surfaces are quite convex; the edge is convex in outline, and has been
battered until it has become quite flat. The groove extends around the
sides and rear edge, and occupies about half the distance between the
middle of the specimen and the top. The ungrooved side edge of the blade
is flatter than the other, and meets the sides at a slight angle. One
side and the side edge are crossed by a pecked surface, as if a second
groove had been attempted. These two grooves, as well as the general
shape of the axe, remind one of the grooved axes found in the Southwest.
Grooved axes are rarely found in the region including Washington and the
southern interior of British Columbia, and the one just described is the
most authentic specimen from the whole area of which I have any
knowledge. There is one other known to me. It is an axe made of stone
and grooved entirely around. It is in the Museum of the Oregon
Historical Society at Portland (no. 237, list 30), and is labeled as
coming from the Cascades. It is hafted in the split end of a stick, and
held in place by thongs. It appears to have been grooved recently, and
the handle bears cuts resembling those made by a modern axe. The edge of
this specimen bears longitudinal lines similar to those found on some
skin-scrapers and on the sharp end of many of the agricultural
implements chipped from stone and found in the Middle Mississippi
Valley. They also somewhat resemble the results of the action of the
natural sand-blast such as affected many specimens in the Columbia
Valley. The material is a black or blackish-gray stone, possibly
diorite. There is a longitudinal groove pecked in one side of this
specimen. This specimen may have been taken west among the belongings of
some pioneer, or it may have been hafted from a description similar to
that given by Mr. Ashworth. The method of hafting is similar to that
employed for skin-scrapers.[6] The only other grooved axe from the
Pacific Coast of America which has come to my attention is from Central
California.[7] Dr. J. W. Hudson informs me that several grooved axes
have been found in northeastern California, but that they are supposed
to have been brought there in prehistoric times from farther east.”
[Illustration:
FIG. 266. (S. 1–2.) An interesting, double-bladed axe, from Missouri.
One may observe that the ridges are prominent. Dr. H. M. Whelpley’s
collection.
]
Mr. Charles E. Brown, who contributed so much to the Stone Age, writes
several pages on the axes of his region. While he speaks for Wisconsin,
much of his description will apply to Michigan, central and eastern
Minnesota types:—
“Of grooved stone axes, the following classes occur.
“1. Notched axes. Not numerous. Most are rough; a few are well made,
being ground smooth or polished.
“2. Axes completely encircled by a groove. Thousands have been found.
Especially numerous in the southern half of the state. Rough, ground, or
polished. Weight from one half pound to eighteen or more pounds.
“2a. Similar but with prominent ridges above and below the handle
groove. Poll rounded or conical. Usually very well made.
“3. Groove extending around three sides, back flattened or rounded.
Groove straight or diagonal. Thousands have been found. Most numerous in
the southern half of the state.
“3a. Similar but with prominent ridges above and below the handle
groove, or only below. Back flat, rounded or concave. Poll rounded or
conical. Usually well made and ground or polished. Not as numerous as
No. 3.
“3b. Similar to No. 3 but with very long blade. Known as _long-bitted_
(adze-form) _axes_. Poll rounded or conical, groove straight or
diagonal, back rounded, flat or concave, cutting edge narrow. Some have
prominent projecting ridges above and below, or only below the handle
groove. Length, nine to twelve or more inches.
“These axes are peculiar to Wisconsin, but are of rare occurrence even
here. They occur in the Lake Michigan shore tiers of counties. All are
very well made and are ground smooth or polished. They resemble somewhat
the long-bitted axes of Arizona and New Mexico. Some specimens have the
poll ornamented with transverse, spiral, or concentric flutings. Some
have the blade ornamented on one or both sides with longitudinal
flutings.
“3c. Oval axes. Groove does not extend quite to the back. Back rounded.
A few have prominent grooves above and below the handle groove. Rare.
Most are well made and ground or polished.
[Illustration:
FIG. 267. (S. 2–5.) All axes, in company with other implements, pass
through the usual stages of manufacture, and we may assume that the
oval pebble is first grooved at the top and pecked on the edge, as
in this Figure. The above specimen was found five feet deep in a
sand-bank on the Merrimack River at Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Phillips Academy collection. Because it was buried at such a depth
in fine, yellow sand, the original markings, or pits, caused by the
hand-hammers, appear in all their freshness. Were this specimen
brought into my office and offered for sale, I would conclude that
it had been made recently and that some one was endeavoring to
deceive me. But it was found under conditions which preclude the
possibility of recent origin.
]
“4. Double-grooved axes. With two grooves. Rare. Similar to
double-grooved axes found in other states.
“5. Centrally grooved axes. Groove at or near the middle of the
implement, and completely encircling it. Rare.
“6. Double-bitted axes. Centrally grooved. Both extremities have a
cutting edge. Of rare occurrence.
“7. Fluted axes. (See _Wisconsin Archeologist_, vol. I, no. I.) The
polls or blades are ornamented with shallow grooves or ridges. Such
ornamentation is not confined to any single class of Wisconsin axes.
They occur on both roughly made, and smooth or polished axes. These axes
are peculiar to Wisconsin. About two hundred and fifty specimens have
been found. The finest series of examples are in the Logan Museum,
Beloit; the State Historical Museum, Madison; the Milwaukee Public
Museum, and the H. P. Hamilton Collection at Two Rivers. No two
specimens are exactly alike in their ornamentation.
[Illustration:
FIG. 268. (S. 1–1.) This is an axe made from a large pitted
hammer-stone. Collection of G. F. Powers, Wilmington, Illinois. The
edge is not very sharp. The figure explains itself,—that the
aborigine desired to make an axe out of his hammer-stone, and did
so. Previously I never saw a specimen like this one.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 269. (S. 1–3.) Presents two Connecticut axes from the collection
of Benton Holcomb, Simsbury. These, being found near together, of
the same form and material, emphasize what I have frequently stated
in this book, that the implements of one section may be
differentiated from those of another. The unfinished bird-stone in
the centre will be described in its proper place.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 270. (S. 1–3.) In the axe-adze class are presented three
beautiful specimens from the collection of A. E. Marks. The one to
the left is double-grooved. The upper specimen has a short blade,
the poll of the axe being as long as the blade. All of these
specimens are worn smooth by contact with the handles and wrappings.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 271. (S. 5–12.) J. H. Richardson collection. Found on
Neutaconkanut Hill, Johnston, Rhode Island.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 272. (S. 1–2.) Collection of W. H. Foster, Andover,
Massachusetts.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 273. (S. 1–1.) The smallest axe in the United States. H. K.
Deisher collection, Kutztown, Pennsylvania. For what purpose this
toy was made, I do not know. It was found near East St. Louis,
Illinois, some years ago.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 274. (S. 1–3.) Rev. James Savage collection. Material: argillite.
Lenawee County, Michigan.
]
“8. Ridged axes. Prominent longitudinal ridge in the centre on both
sides of the blade. Very well made and smooth or polished. Very rare.
Several specimens are known. Probably peculiar to Wisconsin.”
_Other Classes_
“Barbed axes. Occur in Michigan. None have been found in Wisconsin.
Rough, or smooth, or highly polished. (See Fig. 275 for illustration of
specimens in Father James Savage’s collection.)
[Illustration:
FIG. 275. (S. 1–3.) Rev. James Savage’s collection. Barbed axes. Just
why such a form was made, no one is able to determine. These must
remain as mysterious. To the left, argillite, Jackson County,
Michigan; to the right, limestone, Washtenaw County, Michigan.
]
“Indented axes. Occur in central and northern Illinois. They have a
central circular depression on one side of the blade. Several examples
are known. All are well made, smooth or polished.
“Groove extending over poll and into the handle groove. Occur in
Missouri. Rare. Several examples known. Well made, small size, smooth or
polished.”
Down in the Cliff-Dweller country—and by this I mean the region drained
by the Colorado and its tributaries—are discovered axes different from
those found elsewhere in the United States. There are two in Fig. 262
from the collection of Luther A. Norland, La Jara, Colorado. I have
shown these full size. They are made of agate-like stone, from which the
Cliff-Dwellers worked some of their best axes, although such rocks are
extremely hard. These specimens lashed in short handles would make
formidable weapons, and the material is so hard that wood could be cut
as easily, almost, as with an iron axe.
[Illustration:
FIG. 276. (S. 1–4.) Fluted stone axe types. Drawn by Charles E. Brown.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 277. (S. 1–4.) Collection of Logan Museum, Beloit, Wisconsin. All
these fluted axes were found in Wisconsin.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 278. (S. nearly 1–1.) Fluted axe. Joseph Ringeisen collection,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Found on a farm at the southwest end of Wind
Lake, Racine County, Wisconsin.
]
No large axes are found in the Cliff-Dweller country and this type does
not occur in the Pueblo country lying in the Salt River and Gila
valleys, where axes similar to the central one shown in the top row,
Fig. 254, are common. That axe is typical of the adobe ruins of the
Salado and Gila valleys.
The two axes in Fig. 262 were found near each other on Agua Caliente, a
tributary of the La Jara River. The one to the left is jadeite, in two
shades of green, flecked with reddish brown. It shows three notches and
two grooves. The one to the right is actinolite, the color is waxy burnt
umber, flecked on the reverse side with green and white.
In Iowa there was an axe discovered, some years ago, which weighed
thirty-two pounds. This is shown in Fig. 263 _A_, one fifth size. It is
in possession of the Historical Department of Iowa and one of the most
remarkable specimens in the United States. I am indebted to Messrs.
Aldrich and Van Hyning for a cast of this axe. The material is hard gray
granite. It was beautifully worked and polished, and said to be the
largest axe in America.
FLUTED STONE AXES
Of effigy mounds, native copper implements, and fluted stone axes the
State of Wisconsin may be said to possess a monopoly. These are features
peculiar to her interesting archæology. The following information
concerning the fluted axes is furnished by Mr. Charles E. Brown, chief
of the State Historical Museum of Wisconsin, who has personally examined
a large number of specimens:
[Illustration:
FIG. 279. (S. nearly 1–1.) Fluted axe. Edge view of Fig. 278. Joseph
Ringeisen collection, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 280. (S. a trifle over 1–2.) Double-grooved axe to the left. Two
peculiar axes at the right. Wisconsin types.
]
“The so-called fluted or ornamented stone axes are distinguished from
those of all other sections of the United States by the shallow or well
defined ornamental grooves which have been pecked or ground into the
surfaces of their blades and polls. In the accompanying plates figures
of a number of examples of these curious and interesting axes are shown.
Several distinct styles of ornamentation are illustrated. Such
ornamentation is not confined to any special form or forms of Wisconsin
axes. Neither is it confined to only well made or finely finished axes.
Many of the specimens which have received decorative treatment of this
nature are themselves but rudely fashioned, or of very ordinary form;
some have received rough use at the hands of their aboriginal owners, as
is evidenced by their fractured polls and blades. A small number are
gracefully shaped axes, with surfaces ground smooth or highly polished.
These may be truthfully said to represent the highest attainment of the
ancient axe-maker’s art. The greater number of these axes have the
surface of the blade ornamented with from one to five or more parallel
longitudinal grooves which extend from just below the handle groove to
within a short distance of the cutting edge. The grooves are separated
from one another by plane surfaces, or well-marked ridges.
[Illustration:
FIG. 281. (S. 1–2.) Fluted axe. R. Kuehne’s collection, Sheboygan,
Wisconsin. A remarkable specimen.
]
“A few specimens have transverse or diagonal grooves (see Fig. 276).
Occasionally but one surface of the blade is fluted, the other being
devoid of ornamentation. In many instances there is a difference in
either the number of the grooves, or in the manner of the arrangement of
the grooves on the two faces of the blade. Thus the grooves on one side
may be longitudinal and on the other side transverse. One well-known
specimen has the grooves arranged in the form of a chevron (see no. 1,
Fig. 276) and several have circular figures pecked into the surfaces of
their blades. The specimen in the lower right-hand corner of Fig. 277 is
unique in having both longitudinal and transverse grooves on one face of
its blade.
[Illustration:
FIG. 282. (S. 1–2.) C. A. Perkins’s collection, Wakefield,
Massachusetts. A fine example of the double-grooved axe.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 283. (S. 1–1.) Phillips Academy collection. Two small objects in
celt-axe class and a beautiful double-edged axe from a ruin near
Phoenix, Arizona.
]
“A small number of axes have both ornamented blades and polls. In some
specimens the poll only is ornamented. The method of its ornamentation
may consist of a number of grooves radiating from the crown downwards
toward the handle groove, as seen in no. 4, Fig. 276, or of a spiral
groove, or a circle, or number of concentric circles, as are shown in
the other types illustrated. There are other styles of treatment.
“The finest examples of the fluted stone axes are undoubtedly those of
the long-bitted form (see Figs. 277, 281). One of these has eighteen
longitudinal grooves cut into the two faces and front of its blade. In
their style and finish these graceful, slender axes are unsurpassed. A
small number of fluted celts and fluted grooved hammers have also been
found. Several of these are in the State Museum.
“We now have record of the recovery of about two hundred and fifty
fluted stone axes and other implements in Wisconsin, a considerable
increase since 1901 when the existence of only slightly over one hundred
was known. Almost all come from the southern half of the state and the
greater number from eastern Wisconsin. None are known to have been
secured from mounds or graves.
“Fine series of these axes are now to be seen in the collections of the
Logan Museum, at Beloit, in the Milwaukee Public Museum, and in the
State Historical Museum at Madison. Several private collectors also
possess fine examples. There are a few specimens from Wisconsin in
Eastern museums.
“Outside the State of Wisconsin only a few fluted implements have been
found. Mr. Harlan I. Smith has described a fluted celt from the Saginaw
Valley in Michigan, and Dr. David Boyle another from Ontario. We should
expect to find a few stray examples in the adjoining states of Illinois,
Iowa, and Minnesota, but none have yet been reported.
“The significance of the fluted ornamentation of these axes is unknown.”
CONCLUSIONS AS TO CELTS, ADZES, GOUGES AND AXES
The distribution of axes in the United States is not equal to that of
chipped implements. Axes occur in certain sections of the country where
other types of prehistoric objects are wanting, are most numerous where
the problematical forms occur frequently, and are more or less
individualistic, and one can frequently differentiate the Eastern from
the Southern or the Northern from the Western type. There are
practically no stone axes in Florida, and few along the seaboard from
Florida to Texas. Almost none are found in Texas, and northward from
Texas until southern Iowa is reached axes are almost wanting. On the
Great Plains of Kansas and Nebraska, where chipped implements are to be
found, axes are rare. In the cave region of the Ozarks, which, by the
way, is an anomaly in archæology, there are no stone axes, only two
having been found in the entire region; whereas, according to
percentages elsewhere, there should be several hundred, if not nearly
one thousand. On some village-sites in this country numbers of axes have
been found; whereas, on other village-sites there are no axes. This is
significant, and along with other similar facts of interest should be
noted.
In addition to the places already cited where axes are rare, it is
strange that a dearth of them exists on the head waters of the Columbia,
Missouri, and Colorado. They are very rare on the Pacific Coast, and
axes from California, Oregon, and Washington should be considered as
strays.
[Illustration:
FIG. 284. (S. 2–3.) H. M. Braun’s collection.
]
Thus our distribution of axes narrows to the whole Mississippi Valley,
the Delaware and Susquehanna, the eastern South, New England, eastern
and central Canada, and the Cliff-Dweller country. We have already seen
where adzes and gouges occur. The chisel-like form of celt is limited to
the central Mississippi Valley and the Ohio Valley, with a few in the
Hudson, Susquehanna, and St. Lawrence regions.
Many of these types are more or less alike, and yet one may suggest that
they represent different tribes if not different cultures.
A statement was made that axes occur most numerously where the
problematical forms are to be found. This statement is true and
significant.
Again, axes do not occur where there is an abundance of material
suitable for the making of axes, such as in the Ozarks, California, and
throughout the Rocky Mountains. I have commented elsewhere on the lack
of axes in graves and mounds, although they are frequently found in
cliff-houses. But this does not necessarily mean that the Cliff-Dwellers
place them with their dead. They are found in cliff-houses along with
other objects for the simple reason that the Cliff-Dwellers lived in
these places.
[Illustration:
FIG. 285. (S. 1–2.) B. H. Young’s collection. To the left is an
engraved axe. There is a skull worked in relief on one side of the
poll. On the reverse, arm and leg bones seem to be indicated. The
other specimen is a fine stone tomahawk. Both of granite; locality,
the Cumberland Valley.
]
It would be possible for one to devote an entire volume to axes, their
forms, material of which they are made, and uses. It seems to me that
when we scrutinize axes with that detail and care observed by botanists,
biologists, and other scientists in their studies of various forms in
life, that we shall be able to solve some of the mysteries regarding the
purposes of the more highly specialized forms. There is a great deal to
be learned, as I have previously remarked, by such study.
[Illustration:
FIG. 286. (S. 1–3.) At either side are slate tomahawks from Trigg
County, Kentucky; one of which was found in a grave at the mouth of
Little River. The central object was found in Wayne County, near the
Cumberland River. It is remarkable as having three distinct grooves.
It is made of slate and was found in a mound. B. H. Young’s
collection.
]
I do not wish to weary readers with these technical remarks, but in real
archæology they are of the greatest importance. It is only by tedious
comparisons that we shall arrive at a true understanding of stone-age
times. We must cast aside the present, and our mental attitude must be
in sympathy with stone-age man. The student who hastily passes over
exhibits of axes or celts or flint implements as “more or less alike”
will never understand real American archæology, any more than the
student in Latin would become proficient were he to conclude that two
words were derived from the same root because they happen to look
somewhat alike in his text-book.
[Illustration:
FIG. 287. (S. 2–5.) Ceremonial axe from northeastern Kentucky.
Material: hard reddish-brown sandstone. Length, 10 inches. B. H.
Young’s collection.
]
It must be observed that in many axes the groove appears to be the
essential and characteristic thing, whereas it is not. A groove may be
made by elevating, or bringing into prominence the ridges. Examine the
numerous axes illustrated in this chapter, or inspect the axes in some
large museum, as evidence of the statement. The groove, in many, will be
found to be no deeper than the surface of the axe, yet because the
ridges are worked into high relief, it appears to be deeper than it is.
[Illustration:
FIG. 288. (S. about 3–5.) This figure is from “Certain Aboriginal
Remains, Black Warrior River, etc.,” and was loaned by Mr. Moore.
Length, 11.6 inches. Monolithic hatchet from Moundville, Alabama.
]
Fig. 288 is a beautiful stone tomahawk, both handle and base being of
stone cut from a solid piece. This is justly considered one of the
rarest stone artifacts in the United States. It is shown about three
fifths size. Mr. Clarence B. Moore says of it:—
“Some years ago, a colored man, ploughing near one of the larger mounds
at Moundville, found a superb hatchet and handle carved from a solid
mass, probably amphibolite, and highly polished. This hatchet was
procured by Mr. C. S. Prince, from whom it was obtained by the Academy
of Natural Sciences.
“The hatchet, 11.6 inches in length, with a neatly made ring at the end
of the handle (not clearly shown in the reproduction), resembles, to a
certain extent, the one found by Dr. Joseph Jones, near Nashville,
Tennessee, and described and figured by him. C. C. Jones describes and
figures this same hatchet, and speaks of the finding of another exactly
similar in South Carolina.
“Thruston also describes and illustrates the Jones hatchet, and refers
to the South Carolina specimen, and to still another, somewhat ruder in
form, as coming from Arkansas.
“It is interesting in this connection to note the presence of ‘celts’
with stone handles in Santo Domingo, though these hatchets are much
inferior to the specimen from Moundville.
“The Monolithic hatchet from Moundville seems to be much more beautiful
than the one discovered by Doctor Jones, for it leaves nothing to be
desired as to finish, and the graceful backward curve of the part of the
handle above the blade seems more artistic than the form of the
corresponding portion of the Jones hatchet, which is straight.”