Grooved Stone Axes

Grooved Stone Axes

Artifacts

These grooved axes were collected from a site in Orange County in the northern Piedmont. They are examples of chipped and ground stone technology, the latter of which first appeared during the Late Archaic period but continued through the Early, Middle, and Late Woodland periods. This method of tool production involved pecking and grinding the stone down to shape instead of chipping the stone away. Ground stone tools were often made from granite or greenstone metabasalt, and they were repaired by flaking. Once finished, the axe would have been hafted to a wooden handle, which decomposed over time. Archaeologists can use microscopes to see use-wear patterns on the edges of stone axes to tell what they were used for.

Bill Speiden

1200 B.C.E. - 1600 C.E.

.JPG, 1775 × 1191

Image

Orange County

Photograph

4 x 6 "