FEWKBSJ CULTURE AREAS IN THE WEST INDIES 103 



at the other end of a series in which the lateral projection has de- 

 veloped to such an extent that it has completely modified the form 

 of the ax. 



One of the simplest of these asymmetrical axes in the Heye collec- 

 tion is represented in plate 21, A. The want of symmetry in this 

 specimen appears in the left border, the right margin of the ax, 

 when placed in a normal position, being simply ciirved, the left 

 slightly pointed. 



In the next illustration, plate 21, B, representing a somewhat more 

 developed ax, the asymmetry of the left margin is more pronounced 

 and indicated by a marked projection. Plate 21. C, has this 

 feature still more developed, for in this specimen the right margin is 

 almost straight, while the left is curved inward, terminating in a 

 projection. Unlike the preceding, the specimen A is girt by a well- 

 marked encircling groove for hafting, which, combined with the 

 other features, imparts to it the conventional tomahawk form. Ex- 

 cept that it is relatively longer and narrower, the specimen rep- 

 resented in plate 21, 0, is not unlike that shown in plate 21, A. 

 The asymmetrical feature is well marked in this, and also in those 

 represented in plate 21, Z>, E, although in the last mentioned all 

 sign of a groove for hafting is absent. 



While the ax, plate 21, F, belongs to the same type as those de- 

 scribed above, the shape of its head is somewhat different. Here we 

 have a groove on the top of the head, evidently designed for lashing 

 the ax to a handle. The same general outline exists likewise in 

 plate 21, //, but in this specimen the single groove on the head is 

 replaced by three, and the groove encircling the head of the ax and 

 separating it from the body is more pronounced. Plate 21, G, has a 

 groove on the head for attachment of a handle. 



The specimens thus far mentioned have an enlargement at th^ end 

 of the shaft forming a head. Not so, however, the next specimen 

 represented in plate 22, .1, where the shaft simply tapersto the end 

 and is bent backward, forming a distinct cvirve, bringing the pro- 

 jection on one side of the ax at tiie extreme left end of the cutting 

 edge of the blade. In the next specimen, plate 22, B. this extension 

 has become still more prominent, for although the pointed end of 

 the blade has become somewhat enlarged, the projection imparting 

 the asymmetrical form almost equals that of the ax in length. 



This lateral extension of the left margin of the ax has thus far 

 been confined to the lower end or the middle of the implement, but 

 in plate 22. (', D, it has shifted its position and is here found near the 

 middle. The result is that the cutting edge of the ax has been ex- 

 tended on one side, whereas in the preceding specimens the length of 

 the cutting edge is about equal on each side of a median line. 



